STORM WOES MOUNT REGION HIT HARD BY JULY INCIDENTS.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - Last month's thunderstorms caused an estimated $2.3 million damage at Edwards Air Force Base, officials said.

Base officials reported 23 buildings that suffered damage, primarily to roofs and ceilings, as the result of the July 30 storm, said 1st Lt. Dan Bernath, an Edwards spokesman.

Among the buildings damaged was the base gym. The gym has reopened, but its racquetball court is still closed because of water damage, Bernath said.

The base had more than 200 trees that were either uprooted or damaged.

Edwards is paying repair costs from its own budget and will seek reimbursement through its parent unit, Air Force Materiel Command.

In Lancaster, damage from a July 29 storm is expected to be approximately $1 million.

Lancaster officials are seeking a declaration of a state emergency from Gov. Gray Davis, which would put the city in position to receive state and federal disaster aid.

City Manager Jim Gilley said the request is before state officials, but there is no time frame for when they would act on it.

It is the first such request by the city since the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Aid under such a declaration of a state of emergency could include grants and no- or low-interest loans to repair the damage.

Labeling the tornado-like storm an ``extreme wind event,'' Lancaster officials said at least 10 homes will require ``considerable structural repairs,'' almost a quarter-mile of sidewalk will need to be replaced, and approximately 300 trees were uprooted and another 400 trees were damaged.

The storm caused at least $10,000 damage to Antelope Valley College, not including water and fire damage to the college's gym.

Spawned from a moist, unstable air mass that was heated by the desert sun, the storm spared most of the valley, but hit Lake Los Angeles with penny-size hail and pounded Lancaster. Palmdale and Rosamond had light rain but little wind.

With winds estimated at up to 65 mph, trees were uprooted or snapped throughout Lancaster, some toppling onto parked cars and others falling onto roofs. Winds knocked down fences, a billboard and even a brick wall. No serious injuries were reported.

Edwards was hit by a similar storm the next day.