President Bush declared a major disaster area in parts of Northern California -- including Humboldt and Del Norte counties -- and ordered federal aid to supplement recovery efforts in regions hard hit by year-end storms.

North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, had sent a letter on Jan. 10 urging the president to support Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's call for disaster relief.

In a statement Friday Thompson said, “I'm relieved and gratified that the administration has finally realized the true extent of damage caused by the New Year's floods and storms. This was the last major hurdle we had to clear in order to get badly needed federal assistance to those who suffered the most.”

The president's action makes federal funding available for affected people in the counties of Contra Costa, Del Norte, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Sacramento, Siskiyou, Solano and Sonoma. Private property owners in Humboldt County were not included for Federal Emergency Management Agency funds.

Federal funding also is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the storms in the counties of Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Pumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Sierra,

Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba. According to James Sheble, FEMA public information officer for the California region, some emergency situations on private property may qualify as an exemption. In a phone interview from Oakland, Sheble said that although he did not know for certain, the emergency on Mad River bluff -- where the cliff above the river is crumbling away -- may be one of those circumstances. Humboldt County 5th District Supervisor Jill Geist said she is relieved to be able to get moving on projects that the county has been unable to finance on its own. Geist said that the single-largest area in need of improvement is roads. ”This is great news that the president and FEMA recognized how severe that storm system was and recognized the devastation to our infrastructure,” she said. Geist could not comment on the bluff's eligibility for FEMA help, but said she would be looking into the situation as soon as possible.   Ann Johnson-Stromberg covers McKinleyville, business and general assignment. She can be reached at 441-0538 or astromberg@times-standard.com