County: Wind Storm $17M Short of 'Disaster' Designation

There has not yet been enough public damage recorded from last month's hurricane-force winds to qualify as a federal disaster, and county officials are urging school districts, cities, and other public sector entities to come forward with documented damages costs to bring the total up to the point where the county would qualify for federal funds.

 toppled more than 200 power poles, knocked down hundreds of trees and resulted in power outages for more than 400,000 people.

But to qualify as a federal disaster the county must document at least $50.3 million in public damage costs, according to Ken Kondo of the county CEO's office.

So far public entities in the county have reported $33 million in damage, and the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management is urging anyone with damage costs to come forward.

The damage totals are only for public damage costs incurred by public government agencies, not for private residents, though residents may still report damage by calling the LA County Disaster Hotline (1-800-980-4990) or 2-1-1.