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New Report Details More Than $40 Million Cost Of South Coast Natural Disasters

The front-end costs for Santa Barbara County continue to carry a heavy price tag in the wake of two natural disasters.

The county has just issued a report that says it spent about $46 million in emergency response costs.

This is linked to the Thomas Fire in December and the Montecito Mudflow which began on January 9th.

Most of the reimbursement claims are for debris removal and rebuilding damaged infrastructure.

Some of the payroll costs will not be covered.

Already the county has transferred $6 million to the Sheriff's Department and the Office of Emergency Management as it continues to submit claims to federal agencies to try and get reimbursements.

There will also be an estimated loss in property taxes of over $20 million in the next two years.

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