Wind-torn Davis County mulls over damage estimates, contemplates application for federal aid

FARMINGTON — Federal emergency officials are mulling over damage estimates from a ravaging wind storm that ripped through northern Utah on Dec. 1.

Trouble is, some of the massive cleanup efforts might not qualify for federal reimbursement because a lot of the damage was done to private property and volunteers made up a majority of the workforce.

"It doesn't look like Joplin, Mo.," said Davis County Commissioner John Petroff Jr. "There's not a lot for them to see on the ground."

Damage to public property must exceed $3.6 million, a number determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, based on the population affected and size of the impacted area, before cities and the state can even think about applying for federal disaster aid.

"The whole idea is to demonstrate, 'Hey, we've got our hands full here. We've got an event that is beyond our capability to really manage effectively. We need help from another partner, be it state of federal,'" said FEMA spokesman Jerry DeFelice.

Wind gusts of up to 102 mph ripped through the area, leaving more than 50,000 residents and businesses without power. The storm prompted officials to declare a state of emergency, and in the days following the storm, communities rallied together to clear thousands of felled trees and wind-blown debris from private and public properties throughout the affected areas.

While some estimate the damage to be far more than the required threshold, one caveat is that volunteer hours don't count in the preliminary report, DeFelice said. And if they are counted in the final report to petition FEMA aid, each hour must have been documented in a credible way.

"Local emergency managers should know this," DeFelice said, adding that efforts to document the overwhelming volunteer response in Davis and neighboring counties should have been made early on. State and local government, he said, typically find that information more useful than just looking forward to collecting a FEMA reimbursement.

"It's a useful measure of what's required from locals to get through such events," he said.

Petroff said in addition to the question of volunteer hours, he's not sure the more than 1,000 trees lost on public golf courses throughout the county will be covered, even though they will constitute a great expense if they are replaced.