Fire departments in Humboldt County have already been out surveying homes and businesses to find out the extent of the damage.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday to begin providing financial assistance.
“So many of the recovery efforts are already underway," said Ryan Derby, the emergency operations center director for the earthquake recovery. "But it’s the financial recovery and getting people into more long term housing that could take some time.”
Derby said his office is gathering reports on the extent of the damage throughout the region.
He said the local and state emergency declarations in the county will help direct funding to people who may have had their homes destroyed. In Rio Dell, Derby says at least 35 buildings have already been condemned.
“We do live in earthquake country so many of our residents know to expect this," Derby said. "With it being so close to the holiday, naturally this upset the plans of a lot of people.”
Crews are currently working on getting essential infrastructure up and running. According to Pacific Gas & Electric, power has been restored to most residents in the county.
