Nope, not the Sacramento River, the Santa Clara River.
Pictures posted today can be found at on the Schellville website at:
http://www.napanet.net/~arbeau/usaah/update.htm
Below is from a local newspaper as forwarded to me:
Santa Paula's historic airport closed indefinitely Tuesday after the
rain-swollen Santa Clara River tore more than 150 feet off the airfield,
demolished a tie-down area for planes and cut deep into the lone runway.
Since the waters began taking out the bank that buttresses the airport in
the January storms, officials have been struggling to save the 75-year-old
field known for vintage planes.
An island of debris and sediment dumped into the river during the January
flooding deflected the water to the airport's bank, county hydrologist
Scott Holder said. The ricocheting water began tearing at the bank this
week, threatening a small row of hangars on the eastern end of the field.
Crews worked overnight Monday to build a makeshift jetty that would slow
down the water. By Tuesday morning, the hangars were still standing, but
the river had torn a gaping hole in the airfield downstream.
"We've lost, on the southern side, 100 feet of a portion of the runway
right now," said Pat Quinn, an officer for the private association that
runs the airport. A few hours later, a 10-by-15-foot chunk of the asphalt
runway fell into the river.
Desperate to save the airport, management called in private contractors who
dumped rock, dirt and concrete along the bank. County officials are trying
to convince state officials that the airport qualifies for public
assistance, but no money has yet been approved, county Supervisor Kathy
Long said.
Rowena Mason, president of the Santa Paula Airport Association, said
county, state and federal agencies shuffled her from one person to the
next. She couldn't get any help.
"I'm fighting the bureaucracy," she said.
Like other private property, the airport is not automatically eligible for
public aid. In fact, law prohibits the use of public taxpayer dollars for
private benefit. Airports qualify for disaster aid if they are public or
commercial, but the scenic airport caters to recreational fliers.
Although the city has an evacuation and accident plan for the airport, no
one expected the river to erode the bank the way it did.
"Certainly, over time, we've had plans for airplane crashes," City Manager
Wally Bobkie- wicz said. "As far as the river ripping into the runway, we
have no plan for this."
Bobkiewicz said the city has sent fire, police, building and public works
officials to advise the pilots and monitor the situation. Bobkiewicz also
declared a local state of emergency in hope of getting additional aid.
County emergency officials met Tuesday to craft a plea for federal and
state aid to the riverside airport, which could prove difficult since it is
privately owned.
"We have to provide a compelling argument," said Laura Hernandez, assistant
director for the Ventura County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services. "We
see Santa Paula Airport as a critical structure that provides public safety
services. It's a matter of proving that."
Last month, airport officials applied for state and federal money to shore
up the bank with rock. The requests were denied because it is a privately
owned airport, Mason said.
During the wildfires of 2003, fire crews used the airport as a staging
area. About 300 planes and 170 hangars are located at the field, which
averaged more than 125 takeoffs and landings a day. Two dozen businesses
operate there, generating estimated gross sales of $6 million annually.
The erosion did not kill plans for another business venture: a 45-unit
project combining condominiums with hangars. Developer Bob Banman said it
would, however, be reduced in size.
Greg Fuderer, spokesman for the federal Army Corps of Engineers, said the
airport must first seek aid through state or county disaster relief
programs. In addition, the governor must declare a state of emergency.
The state and federal disaster declarations made in January apply only to
the damage done by those storms, not the one that began last week.
County officials say they have no money to help. Flood control authorities
set aside $5 million for disaster relief this year and have already spent
$8 million.
"We're upside down," Long said.
With no government assistance, airport officials said they were forced to
make their own repairs to shore up the disappearing bank.
They did not obtain a permit to do the work, however, from the Corps of
Engineers.
Fuderer said the airport could obtain an after-the-fact permit, but the
work and the need would have to be reviewed.
"If we don't approve that permit after a review, we'd view their work on
the bank as a violation," Fuderer said. That could mean a fine, or an order
to remove the bank protection, he said.
The airport is owned by an association of hangar owners and receives no
public funds. Its annual budget is about $400,000.
The association plans to celebrate the airport's 75th anniversary in August.
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