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SACRAMENTO – Senator Scott Wilk, representing the 21st Senate District, announces he and Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) are requesting federal assistance for rural communities left in the dark by California’s unprecedented and recurring power outages.
The letter can be found here.
“Today, in the 21st Senate District, the power was shut off again in the Leona Valley, Acton and Agua Dulce. It is unacceptable and dangerous. In these, as in many rural communities, water is drawn from wells. Without power there is no water. Without power there is no cell service, leaving residents unable to call for help in an emergency,” said Wilk. “Additionally, medically vulnerable people are left without access to life-saving equipment like ventilators, sleep apnea and dialysis machines. Our constituents need help and we are asking the federal government to step in where the state has failed.”
Wilk and Lackey are requesting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provide personal generators and water deliveries to the rural communities affected. In the absence of a congressional representative, Senator Wilk and Assemblyman Lackey made the request directly to President Trump.
“Actions speak louder than words and Gavin Newsom has allowed this to become the ‘new normal’ despite his words to the contrary,” continued Wilk. “While bureaucrats at utility companies turn power on and off, and politicians wring their hands in despair, people are suffering. Our constituents need help now.”
Earlier this week Wilk and Lackey personally rented a generator and brought it to a retired veteran in need of oxygen. The power had been off for over 24 hours, rendering his ventilator useless without a generator.