SAN DIEGO -- The county Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to formally oppose federal plans to move a 12-ton cache of emergency medical supplies from San Diego to Los Angeles.

"Sometimes the federal government gets a good idea. Unfortunately, this is not one of them," Supervisor Ron Roberts said.

Roberts told his colleagues the move could leave San Diego stranded in the event of a disaster.

"Should a disaster strike that destroyed or marginalized the north-south transportation corridors -- the seat between San Diego County and Los Angeles -- such as the recent wildfire did, our region could be cut off entirely from these supplies," he said.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wants to move the stockpile to Los Angeles to regionalize medical supply caches.

The move will save the government about $40,000 a year it spends on renting a warehouse in San Diego to house the stockpile.

Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Carlsbad, said he intends to discuss the issue Thursday with Michael Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"This move threatens the health and the safety of every San Diego County resident," Bilbray said in a statement. "Given the history of natural and man-made disasters in our region, it is critical that these supplies remain here in San Diego where they can be deployed quickly and easily."

Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a letter to the federal agency in opposition to moving the stockpile.

Dr. Jake Jacoby, a University of California, San Diego Medical Center physician who heads the county's Disaster Medical Assistance Team, or DMAT, testified the supplies are needed locally to protect public safety.

"Having it two hours away will delay our response time," Jacoby said.

Jacoby told the supervisors the 12-ton stockpile of tents, generators, medical supplies and emergency equipment is enough to treat 150-250 patients a day for up to three days.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Greg Cox said the medical supply cache needs to be readily available for local use.

"The DMAT and our own experts in the county public health and the Office of Emergency Services believe that the move would significantly threaten our ability to protect the residents of San Diego County," Cox said.