AREA BUSTLES WITH RECOVERY; MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN EL NINO STORM REPAIRS UNDER WAY.

Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer

Road projects, sewer line repairs, carpet replacement and painting jobs are clear indications that El Nino's wrath is still being felt nearly six months after storms left Ventura County in a state of disaster.

The volume of assistance to local government, homeowners and businesses nevertheless continues to help tip the balance in favor of recovery.

``All around the county, we've got roadside ditch restoration, a lot of shoulder restoration, a whole summer's worth of work,'' said Butch Britt, the county's deputy public works director for transportation.

Repairs to county-maintained roads reflect the two tracks recovery is taking: short-term projects that restore services and structures, long-term projects that are improvements on what the storm wiped out.

``In some cases, it's going to be a year before we get the design done and the authorizations,'' Britt added.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved disaster-recovery assistance sought by 38 public agencies, ranging from county and city governments to school, water and park districts. A private nonprofit water agency also is expected to gain approval, said Michael Sabbaghian, deputy public assistance officer for FEMA's Sacramento office.

FEMA does not have an estimate for the total anticipated payout because paperwork is still being processed, he explained.

``Because of just the sheer number of applicants, the damage was wide enough and significant enough that it will take some time,'' Sabbaghian said. ``Our attempt is to finish the initial stage by October.''

Damage estimates from public agencies and the county Office of Emergency Services, however, indicate the scope of work is huge.

The state Department of Transportation was hardest hit with $35 million in damage. County growers lost $31.2 million in crops and other property. Navy bases at Point Mugu and Port Hueneme took $20 million in damage, and county agencies reported $15 million lost, mostly in road damage.

County officials estimated total residential-property damage at $37 million.

FEMA has approved 733 applications totaling more than $1.12 million in rental payments - for those forced out of their homes - and grants for minimal home repairs not covered by insurance in the county. FEMA also has approved 424 family grant applications totaling more than $210,000, said Patti Roberts, an agency spokeswoman.

Margaret Kavanaugh got about $500 from FEMA toward repairing the garage, a bathroom and two bedrooms of her Camarillo home, which were flooded during a notorious downpour in February.

``I think just about everyone on this street got water,'' Kavanaugh said of the homes on Mardigras Court. ``I was luckier than my neighbors, but they had a two-story house and ran upstairs.''

The cul-de-sac was inundated by surges from a storm drain that was overloaded from neighborhoods at higher elevations.

Water was nearly a foot deep in part's of Kavanaugh's home. ``I must have had that carpeting turned up for three or four weeks.''

Many residents tap low-interest loans provided by the federal Small Business Administration for significant home repairs and personal property losses. Business owners also need similar loans for repairing or replacing real estate, equipment and inventory, and for working capital to stay in business.

In Ventura County, the SBA has loaned $2.5 million at low interest to 250 homeowners and renters and $2.6 million to 98 businesses, spokesman Rick Jenkins said.

``It's still going up a little bit. We have just a very few left to process,'' Jenkins noted.

County officials are unlikely to get a full, accurate assessment of the storm damage until the end of the year, when farmers submit harvest and income data to the county Agricultural Commissioner's Office.

``A lot probably just about broke even,'' said Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau. ``From the horrific losses in January and February, because of the extended season and because of the other areas also hurt by El Nino, some of the guys actually might have been OK.''

Strawberry growers, for instance, suffered $18 million in losses to crops destined for the frozen-food market. The more lucrative fresh-market fruit benefited from the longer growing season in a cool, damp spring, Laird said.

Conversely, lemon growers took less than $1 million in damage to their good early crop. But the storms affected growth of the summer crop that typically brings better prices to the county's growers, Laird noted.

Restoration of the historic Ventura Pier was one project that benefited from El Nino.

The pier, a county landmark built in 1872, was 1,958 feet long before losing 423 feet from its end on a single December day in 1995. Insurance paid for replacing pilings and installing metal bracing. The 423 feet were not restored, however, leaving $1.2 million for future work, said Monty Clark, president of the group Pier Into the Future.

Last winter strong swells took out some pilings and bracing. This time the damage occurred during a recognized disaster, so the city of Ventura expects to get about $140,000 that can be combined with the insurance funds to restore some of the pier's length, Clark said.

``We're going to put an end on the pier from where it is right now. It may pick up another 80 to 100 feet to incorporate a large end on the pier,'' Clark explained.

``We all would like to have it out to that same length again, but if we can't assure it will survive, we will just keep it as strong as we can and just put a nice looking end on the pier,'' he added. ``We did swell.''

ASSESSING THE DAMAGE

Many public works projects in El Nino's wake gain little notice, but road repairs are visible because of closures and traffic delays.

The winter storms damaged some 80 areas along the 550 miles of roads maintained by the county. Most of the repairs will be financed with help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other federal funds are available to help pay for repairs on 10 collector roads.

Winter storms traditionally damage vulnerable areas, but El Nino's wallop was especially hard, and ``this year we got hit pretty good,'' said Butch Britt, a Ventura County roads official.

For instance, Santa Ana Road near Ojai was closed by a landslide to all but a single lane of rush-hour traffic for three months before the full reopening in June, Britt recalled.

A long stretch of Balcom Canyon Road remains closed because of a washout halfway between Moorpark and Fillmore. Britt said the county is considering a major project that would feature a viaduct, and that requires extensive review by state and federal agencies.

The California Department of Transportation had three major projects going in the county after the winter storms.

The Long Canyon Creek bridge on Highway 118 west of Moorpark has been repaired but remains posted for slower truck speeds.

A 14-mile stretch of Highway 33 above Ojai was reopened in early July, but a 17-mile stretch remains closed until mid-August.

Caltrans started work last week on a retaining wall along Highway 150 between Santa Paula and Ojai. The five-month project will limit traffic to one lane in both directions near St. Thomas Aquinas College.

- Michael Coit, staff writer

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BOX: ASSESSING THE DAMAGE (See text)