About the 2026 Update

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 to normal or pre-disaster conditions.
• Mitigation, or prevention, activities are actions that will prevent or reduce losses, even if an incident does occur. Mitigation can limit 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 2020 Plumas County Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP). Floods, wildfires, 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. 

2026 Multi-Jurisdictional LMHP Update

Plumas County is partnering with the City of Portola and five special districts, as follows: Grizzly Lake Community Services District, Indian Valley Community Services District, Plumas-Eureka Community Services District, Chester Public Utility District, and Feather River Resource Conservation District to update the 2020 Plumas County and 2019 City of Portola LHMPs. As part of the LHMP Update, new LHMP annexes will be developed for the City and five special districts as participating jurisdictions. 

The Update will address:

• an updated list of hazards,
• assess the likely impacts of these hazards on 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 on critical facilities, infrastructure, and the environment.

Opportunities for Input

Members of the community have a very important role in the multi-jurisdictional LHMP Update. Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee (HMPC) and public meetings will be held as part of the plan development process.  Specific meeting times and locations are detailed below. Please see the "Planning Committee and Public Meetings" page for more information and meeting materials. 

Stay involved! Questions?

For more information on this project and how to be involved, contact Lori Pini, Manager, Office of Emergency Services at (530) 283-7438 / loripini@countyofplumas.com or the County’s consultant, Jeanine Foster of Foster Morrison at (303) 717-7171 / jeanine.foster@fostermorrison.com.