Kern County Supervisor Phillip Peters office BAKERSFIELD – Kern County Supervisor Phillip Peters issued the following update to residents and all those impacted by the recent string of storms and severe weather.
“Kern County departments have been working tirelessly to ensure our community’s safety, and provide rapid response to handle new challenges as they emerge. They are also working diligently to provide relevant, up-to-date information as it becomes available. The historic amounts of rainfall that we have incurred this year has had a massive impact and we will be dealing with the resulting damages as quickly and efficiently as possible. Although the majority of evacuation orders have been lifted, we ask that you still exercise caution and avoid the Calgary Tract on Cane Peak Ct. as it is still under evacuation due to potential landslides. If you haven’t already, please sign up for Ready Kern alerts by visiting the Kern County Fire Department website or the Kern County District One Supervisor website. If you need assistance, please call 211 or reach out to my office at (661)868-3650.
Kern County Fire Chief Aaron Duncan has provided an update on damage assessments for a recovery effort.
“Recovery and damage assessments have been going strong over the last few days and will continue. Kern County Fire Department, along with agencies throughout the County, have been working tirelessly to get safety hazards and concerns cleaned up for our communities that have seen damage from the heavy rain and flooding last week. We are also working judiciously with California State Geologists and civil engineers with potential landslide areas, and implementing their suggestions as we receive them.”
Kern County Public Health would like to remind residents to avoid contact with floodwater as much as possible. If any food or other consumables have come in contact with flood waters, it is recommend that they be thrown out. Additionally, any structures that have been exposed to flood waters should be sanitized and dried as quickly as possible to prevent mold growth. Lastly, it is important to sanitize and test water wells that have been subjected to flood waters. For additional information and recovery resources, visit at kernpublichealth.com.
“My office has been in contact with our local private partners to convey our support. We are a strong and resilient community that has always supported one another in times of crisis. The process for us to recover will take some time, but we will emerge stronger than ever,” said Peters.
