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As Wet Weather Continues, Parts Of Yuba County Still Recovering From Last Winter's Storms

YUBA COUNTY (CBS13) - The first major storm of the year brought recording-breaking rain to the region. And while preparations are underway for the next big weather system, many communities are still reeling from last Winter's storm damage.

"We're still trying to recover. We still have a long ways to go," said Russ Brown with Yuba County.

One year later, many counties in Northern California continue to deal with damaged roads and much-needed repairs.

"These storms hit last year and we're still working through the problem," said Yuba County supervisor Randy Fletcher.

In Yuba County, major roadways in the foothills are completely washed out.

"They are closed, we cannot open them, it's not safe, we can't even get around," said Fletcher.

To this day, those washed-out roads remain untouched and are still closed.

"It takes them an hour drive around the roads to get to their homes, an extra hour of driving just to get home," said Fletcher referring to the residents impacted.

Many residents in the county have been left with no direct route to their homes, having to take backroads for the last year.

"Yeah it's been difficult getting around," said Rusty Blevins.

Blevins is a school bus driver who lives in the area.

"I pick up kids on the other part of Fountain House on Dobbins and I see the signs that say you can't go up any further," he said.

There are about a dozen washed-out roads, most of which are completely impassible throughout the county, in desperate need of repair. Now, crews put plastic on the roads to help keep them from deteriorating any further with recent storms.

So what's the holdup with repairs?

"FEMA is dealing with a lot, up and down the state, and throughout the country, and the funds are gonna come. We knew it was gonna take a while, but not this long," said Russ Brown, a Yuba County spokesperson.

The county qualified for about $10 million in FEMA assistance. While some of the money has begun to trickle in, the main funds needed aren't here yet.

And with more rain on the horizon, that money couldn't come faster.

"I hope they get the money they need to fix things because it's really slowing us down...all I can do is hope," said Blevins.

Yuba County leaders say they're ready to go. The public works department here has the plans in place for these repairs, but they're just waiting for funding.

And weather permitting, the hope is to start repairing roads by the spring.

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