Salinas City Council approves local emergency declaration for 2023 Pineapple Express

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV)- Salinas City Council met Thursday for a special meeting to unanimously vote to empower the Director of Emergency Services to officially adopt a local emergency due to March storms.

This will allow the city to apply for and receive state aid for damages and assistance to help the city.

With the increasing levels of the Salinas River the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services has indicated that roads in the warning zone—including Highway 1, Highway 68, and Blanco Road—could potentially be impacted by flood water as peak flows pass through on March 13 through March 14, with more significant rain expected on March 14; and WHEREAS, high levels of water in unincorporated areas of Monterey County, adjacent to the city limits, have resulted in evacuation warnings and orders including the areas of Salinas at Russell Road and San Juan Grade Road (Bolsa Knolls) and the Boronda area; and WHEREAS, heavy rains have caused portions of roadway within the city to be damaged threatening drivers and passengers and have resulted in the closure of city parks in order to protect the public from the threat of falling trees and tree limb

CIty of Salinas Special Meeting Agenda

The City also added that at 12:30 a.m. the Salinas river "over-topped" into the City's Industrial Waterwaster Treatment Plant. That accumulated with everything else led the council to seek state aid.

The state of emergency will be ongoing until terminated.