Crews working to prevent creeks from overflowing in Merced County

MERCED COUNTY (KFSN) -- It is a county wide effort, crews are continuing to clear what they can from rivers and streams in Merced County before storms are expected back in the area.

"We're working closely with public works, MID, some of the special districts to aggressively clear these waterways free of debris so that they can flow more smoothly," said Mark Lawson, Merced County OES Director.

In a unanimous vote, the Merced County Board of Supervisors ratified a proclamation of a local emergency during a special meeting on Tuesday. This is the second local emergency proclamation made this year; the first was after flooding caused by storms in January.

"We had some flooding and other damage-- a lot of it was infrastructure of roads. We are identifying the problems we had three, this is an extension, now we have flooding in the Le Grand area," said Darron McDaniel, Merced County Supervisor.

Aerial video shows parts of the county were inundated, the biggest impact coming from water overflowing the Mariposa reservoirs spillway for the first time in decades.

Officials with Merced County Office of Emergency Operations said at least 20 levees and homes, along with about 100 roadways, were affected. The damage is estimated to be more than $5 million with just this last weekend's storms.

"We're trying to get in there and do what proactive efforts we can," said Lawson.

County residents also confronted the board-- they say debris in the Mariposa Creek is the problem; one that should have been taken care of earlier.

OES officials said it is an ongoing effort-- for now they are focused on clearing what they can and getting residents ready for the storms ahead.

OES also said there are meetings with people from the state and federal level to assist the county with assessing damage and help with recovery. They also have someone at their office and a landline with updated information available 24/7

The county's main focus right now is to clear what they can and help people in the county prepare.