Arnie declares quake emergency

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger toured the community hardest hit by the state’s first deadly earthquake in nine years, declaring a local state of emergency as aftershocks rattled beneath the central California wine country.

“Obviously it’s going to be a rough Christmas for people here in Paso Robles and the economic impact on the city has yet to be felt,” said Paso Robles Mayor Frank Meacham.

Meacham and Dallas Jones, director of the state Office of Emergency Services, showed Schwarzenegger the scene where the quake demolished an historic clock tower building, a landmark in the community of nearly 27,000.

Schwarzenegger pointed to a severely damaged building on one side of a street and an intact building on the other side

“You can see very clearly the difference in a building that hasn’t been retrofitted and one that has been retrofitted,” said the governor, who stopped to shake hands with firefighters.

The fault system that unleashed the quake about 20 miles to the northwest of Paso Robles remained active. There had been 100 magnitude-3 or higher aftershocks by today.

The aftershock sequence was likely to continue for months and perhaps upward of a year, the US Geological Survey said. There was a 90% or greater probability that aftershocks of 5.0 magnitude or greater would follow in the next week.

There was no immediate estimate of the total cost of quake-related damage.

Schwarzenegger’s declaration of an emergency in San Luis Obispo County directs state resources to be made available to help.

It also means inspectors will come to determine whether assistance should be sought from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Small Business Administration for low-cost loans for repair and recovery.