The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) defines hazard mitigation as, “any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to life and property from natural hazards.” 

Another way to understand hazard mitigation is as the prevention component of the emergency management process
(see Emergency Management Cycle figure).

• Preparedness activities are the emergency plans, training, drills, and exercises that individuals, communities and first responders participate in on almost a daily basis.  These are things done to get ready for an emergency or disaster before it happens.
• Response is the short-term, emergency actions taken to address the immediate impacts of a hazard.
• Recovery is the longer-term process of restoring the community back to normal or pre-disaster conditions.
• Mitigation, or prevention, activities are actions that will prevent or eliminate losses, even if an incident does occur. Mitigation can reduce or eliminate the need for an emergency response and greatly reduce the recovery period.
• To address Hazard Mitigation in Plumas County, the County is in the process of updating the 2014 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP).

Flood, wildfire, dam failure, and severe weather are just a few of the natural hazards of concern to Plumas County.  While natural hazards such as these cannot be prevented, an LHMP forms the foundation for a community’s long-term strategy to reduce disaster losses by breaking the repeated cycle of disaster damage and reconstruction.  Communities with a FEMA-approved LHMP are eligible for FEMA pre- and post-disaster grant funding and are better positioned to respond and recover when disasters occur. 

2020 Update

The LHMP Update will address:

• an updated list of hazards,
• assess the likely impacts of these hazards to the people and assets of the Plumas County planning area, and
• establish updated goals and prioritize projects to reduce the impacts of future disasters on people and property as well as to critical facilities and infrastructure.

Opportunities for Input

Members of the community have a very important role in the LHMP update. Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee (HMPC) and public meetings will be held as part of the plan development process.  Information on specific meeting times and locations are detailed below, as available.

Stay involved! Got questions?

For more information on this project and how to be involved, contact Tracey Ferguson, AICP, Planning Director at
(530) 283-6214 / traceyferguson@countyofplumas.com or the County’s consultant, Jeanine Foster of Foster Morrison at (303) 717-7171 / jeanine.foster@fostermorrison.com.