Officials urge residents to report storm damage, problems still linger in Prunedale

Spring may be here, but the cost of winter storms is still being tailed. In Monterey County damage to roads from both January and February storms is more than $50 million. There are other costs though. Private homes and businesses took a real hit.

The Hidden Hills Ranch in Prunedale, for example, is still cleaning up more than a month after punishing winter storms ripped through the property.

“After the shock and grief of losing animals and so much devastation,” said Gayle Comer whose owns the non-profit ranch with her husband Mark. “Now, it’s just been all work.”

The ranch has been a staple in the community for years offering animal tours to school children. In February, rain and wind powered through the property beating it up, knocking down trees and damaging their home. Worst of all, they say, their donkey was killed.

“This (the ranch) has been a vision,” said Gayle Comer. “It’s been a place of refuge, beauty and it’s changed lives. It’s hard to look at.”

The price tag to clean up the ranch is a whopping $100,000 worth so far. “We had over 50 trees down and a lot of those fell on fence lines,” said Mark Comer. “So all of our animal corrals had to be replaced.”

There are plenty of other homes in the area with damages too. One resident we spoke to says they had at least $10,000 in damage and she says her neighbor had $30,000 worth. So with this damage in mind, we went to talk to Monterey County’s Office of Emergency Services. They say they are asking everyone to report any damage from February’s storms because doing so may help the county to qualify for federal aid to help residents rebuild their private property.

“Even though the federal government has not issued a disaster declaration for February yet, they did already OK’d the Small Business Administration to come in and offer private assistance,” said Gerry Malais with Monterey County Office of Emergency Services.

S.B.A. doesn’t just hand over money and say go fix your home. It’s a loan with an interest rate. Something that many folks in Prunedale aren’t too sure about.

Gayle and Mark have reported their damage and are going through insurance to cover most of their costs, but there are even fears there.

“It’s not easy to get coverage for this operation with all our animals and everything,” said Mark Comer.

Even though the SBA will only be giving out loans, the county says it’s important for everyone to report their damage, even if they are going through insurance, because there could still be a chance of getting more help.

“They do have grant programs if the damage is significant enough where they actually come in and give money away,” said Malais. “That doesn’t have to be repaid, however, most of the time it is in the form of low income loans.”

Back at the ranch, Mark and Gayle have their hands full but are still hopeful for the future and the chance to one day soon give kids the gift of seeing animals again.

“We are still probably a couple months from getting that (work) done and we need to get it done before our summer camp program which is our most popular program,” said Mark Comer.

For more information on how to report storm damage click here