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| Author: | C170BDan [ Wed Feb 23, 2005 1:32 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Santa Paula |
I just heard a report that there was rain/flood damage to the Santa Paula airport. Anyone know what happened? |
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| Author: | JBoyle [ Wed Feb 23, 2005 2:25 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
The river (Sacramento?) on the west side of the field is running fast because of all the recent rain. Tuesday night, the western 1/3rd of the runway disappeared. This morning FOX had a live report from the airport and was reporting the river should be cresting at 1030 PST...they weren't sure if, and how bad, the airport woud be flooded. The state had huge trucks dumping fill at the west end of the runway to prevent any further erosion. It looks like some guys might have to truck some planes out. |
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| Author: | Roger Cain [ Wed Feb 23, 2005 8:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Nope, not the Sacramento River, the Santa Clara River. Pictures posted today can be found at on the Schellville website at: http://www.napanet.net/~arbeau/usaah/update.htm Below is from a local newspaper as forwarded to me: Santa Paula's historic airport closed indefinitely Tuesday after the rain-swollen Santa Clara River tore more than 150 feet off the airfield, demolished a tie-down area for planes and cut deep into the lone runway. Since the waters began taking out the bank that buttresses the airport in the January storms, officials have been struggling to save the 75-year-old field known for vintage planes. An island of debris and sediment dumped into the river during the January flooding deflected the water to the airport's bank, county hydrologist Scott Holder said. The ricocheting water began tearing at the bank this week, threatening a small row of hangars on the eastern end of the field. Crews worked overnight Monday to build a makeshift jetty that would slow down the water. By Tuesday morning, the hangars were still standing, but the river had torn a gaping hole in the airfield downstream. "We've lost, on the southern side, 100 feet of a portion of the runway right now," said Pat Quinn, an officer for the private association that runs the airport. A few hours later, a 10-by-15-foot chunk of the asphalt runway fell into the river. Desperate to save the airport, management called in private contractors who dumped rock, dirt and concrete along the bank. County officials are trying to convince state officials that the airport qualifies for public assistance, but no money has yet been approved, county Supervisor Kathy Long said. Rowena Mason, president of the Santa Paula Airport Association, said county, state and federal agencies shuffled her from one person to the next. She couldn't get any help. "I'm fighting the bureaucracy," she said. Like other private property, the airport is not automatically eligible for public aid. In fact, law prohibits the use of public taxpayer dollars for private benefit. Airports qualify for disaster aid if they are public or commercial, but the scenic airport caters to recreational fliers. Although the city has an evacuation and accident plan for the airport, no one expected the river to erode the bank the way it did. "Certainly, over time, we've had plans for airplane crashes," City Manager Wally Bobkie- wicz said. "As far as the river ripping into the runway, we have no plan for this." Bobkiewicz said the city has sent fire, police, building and public works officials to advise the pilots and monitor the situation. Bobkiewicz also declared a local state of emergency in hope of getting additional aid. County emergency officials met Tuesday to craft a plea for federal and state aid to the riverside airport, which could prove difficult since it is privately owned. "We have to provide a compelling argument," said Laura Hernandez, assistant director for the Ventura County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services. "We see Santa Paula Airport as a critical structure that provides public safety services. It's a matter of proving that." Last month, airport officials applied for state and federal money to shore up the bank with rock. The requests were denied because it is a privately owned airport, Mason said. During the wildfires of 2003, fire crews used the airport as a staging area. About 300 planes and 170 hangars are located at the field, which averaged more than 125 takeoffs and landings a day. Two dozen businesses operate there, generating estimated gross sales of $6 million annually. The erosion did not kill plans for another business venture: a 45-unit project combining condominiums with hangars. Developer Bob Banman said it would, however, be reduced in size. Greg Fuderer, spokesman for the federal Army Corps of Engineers, said the airport must first seek aid through state or county disaster relief programs. In addition, the governor must declare a state of emergency. The state and federal disaster declarations made in January apply only to the damage done by those storms, not the one that began last week. County officials say they have no money to help. Flood control authorities set aside $5 million for disaster relief this year and have already spent $8 million. "We're upside down," Long said. With no government assistance, airport officials said they were forced to make their own repairs to shore up the disappearing bank. They did not obtain a permit to do the work, however, from the Corps of Engineers. Fuderer said the airport could obtain an after-the-fact permit, but the work and the need would have to be reviewed. "If we don't approve that permit after a review, we'd view their work on the bank as a violation," Fuderer said. That could mean a fine, or an order to remove the bank protection, he said. The airport is owned by an association of hangar owners and receives no public funds. Its annual budget is about $400,000. The association plans to celebrate the airport's 75th anniversary in August. |
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