The Plumas County Board of Supervisors is discussing the development of a policy to guide spending the funds the county has received for damages from the 2021 Dixie Fire. It’s a good time to look back at the work that has been accomplished since the fire, and to plan for the future, said Zachary Gately, the county grant manager.
Gately recapped Dixie Fire and COVID recovery grants at the supervisors’ Jan. 21 meeting. His summary offers both a review of how funds have already been allocated and inspiration for using funds in the future.
“We have accomplished a lot as a county. We should be proud of that.”
Zachary Gately, Plumas County grant manager
“It helps to look back to plan for the future,” Gately said. “We have accomplished a lot as a county. We should be proud of that.”
Gately calculated that the county has received a total of $29.01 million in post-Dixie grants for businesses, housing and infrastructure, and another $30.6 million in settlement funds. These are funds to public entities and non-profit organizations and do not include individual settlements, he said.
Knowing how county officials and business owners have spent that money can be a guide for future investments in Plumas County, he said. As a new Greenville homeowner, Gately shared his excitement for the possibilities. “We should be looking ahead – not just 10 or 20 years but 100 years into the future,” he said.
Direct funds for community support programs
The bulk of the $29.01 million allocated to Plumas County in post-Dixie grant funding is designated for housing and infrastructure development countywide. Of that, $25.97 million is for programs focusing on disaster recovery, home rebuilding, fire mitigation for defensible space and home hardening, all provided by a variety of state and federal agencies. The majority of these funds – $24.4 million – is designated for housing and has not been spent, Gately said.
The remaining $3.04 million is designated for business development. The supervisors allocated $1.5 million of it to the Indian Valley Community Services District, which is constructing a public safety building to include the sheriff’s substation. It will also house the Indian Valley Fire Department and ambulance service quarters.
The remaining $1.5 million consists of grants specific to community programs and local businesses. The largest amount is a $567,000 grant funded by the federal Community Development Block Grant program. It is directed at for-profit businesses to offset their costs and promote economic activity after the Dixie Fire. This grant provides up to $22,700 for each qualifying business.
The CDBG for-profit economic development grant program is still open, said Gately. He is accepting applications on a rolling basis through May, 2026 or until the funds are exhausted. The program is specific to certain burn areas around Greenville and Indian Valley. Less than half of these grant funds have been obligated, Gately added. Among the businesses already given grants are Young’s Market, Indian Valley Butchers and Region Burger, all in Indian Valley.
The American Rescue Plan Act provides $540,000 in community and economic development grants. Individual businesses are eligible for up to $10,000. Among the community projects completed with this funding are an accessible bathroom at Quincy Provisions and cold boxes for Genesee Valley Farm Retreat & California Biochar, replacing those destroyed in the fire.
The supervisors also awarded $45,000 in ARPA funds for economic development to each of the four regional chambers of commerce and Indian Valley Innovation Hub. Plumas County libraries received $46,868 in ARPA grants to improve internet access. Gately emphasized the importance of digital equity as communities rebuild after the Dixie Fire. Libraries can help bridge the digital divide by providing internet hotspots and collaborating with schools and government agencies. “Fostering economic opportunity is an essential element of our rebuilding countywide,” Gately said. The ARPA funds have been completely dispersed.
Another $409,462 became available to Plumas County and the city of Portola through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, for small businesses negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Microenterprise businesses, including Mary Cheek, CPA, Young’s Market and Lazzarino Machine Works, received $50,000 each. Many awardees used the funds to support on-going operations, Gately said. CARES funding has been fully spent.
Table 1. Community support and local business grants
| Source | Amount | Type |
| CDBG | $567,000 | For-profit businesses in the burn scar area |
| ARPA | $540,000 | Community and economic development projects |
| CARES | $409,462 | Grants to small businesses impacted by COVID |
| Total | $1,516,462 |
The $29.01 million in grants has been distributed throughout the county, with the bulk going to supervisorial District 4 in the Quincy area. That’s the nature of the county’s population distribution, said Gately. Quincy represents the greatest concentration of businesses, he said.
County to hire two coordinators
To help manage these and future funds, the Plumas County Board of Supervisors plans to hire two new coordinator positions.
Recovery coordinator – This fulltime position will focus on “all things recovery for Plumas County,” Gately said. Approved by the supervisors in their 2024-2025 budget, the recovery coordinator job description is expected to be approved this spring, when the supervisors will start looking for candidates. It will be funded by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. settlement money.
Community coordinator – This is a one-third time position to span three years. It will focus on two projects funded by Rural Community Assistance Corporation grants. A project in Chester is designed to recharge the local economy; the other, in Quincy, focuses on fostering the recreation economy, Gately said.
Settlement funds
Plumas County has also received $30.6 million to compensate for direct losses from the Dixie Fire. The largest block comes from a nearly $30 million settlement won by Plumas County District Attorney David Hollister and four other northern California district attorneys in a civil lawsuit filed against PG&E. California fire officials found PG&E responsible for starting the Dixie Fire with faulty electrical equipment. Plumas County’s share of the settlement is $17 million, allocated to local charities and organizations involved in mitigating the effects of the fire.
Plumas County Administrative Officer Debra Lucero reported Jan. 15 that the county’s insurer had paid $2.26 million for the loss of three county-owned buildings in Greenville and some equipment. (That figure has since been adjusted to $4.4 million.) The supervisors approved the $1.5 million IVCSD grant out of insurance funds.
The final pot of money is $10.9 million the country won as a settlement from PG&E. It includes restricted funds to reimburse California Office of Emergency Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for their fire-related services, said Lucero.
The county’s remaining unrestricted share is $7.9 million. The supervisors have spent just $10,000 of that. In November 2022, the board of supervisors allocated $10,000 in PG&E settlement funds to a spay and neuter program for feral cats. Volunteers have completed three spay-a-thons in an effort to control the feline population of cats that proliferated after the fire. A fourth one is scheduled for March.
While allocating the PG&E settlement funds has come up frequently in the supervisors’ meetings, they have yet to develop a policy establishing spending priorities. The board held a community workshop in April, 2023 to discuss a wildfire recovery funding plan. In his Jan. 21 presentation, Gately suggested another workshop involving the public might help to hone a policy around the County’s available settlement funds.
Table 2. Settlement and insurance funds
| Source | Amount | Committed funds to date |
| North State DAs lawsuit against PG&E | $17 million | Unreported |
| Insurance | $2.26 million | $1.5 million to the Indian Valley Community Services District for construction of new public safety building |
| PG&E settlement with the county | $10.9 million | $3 million to reimburse state & federal agencies $10,000 to feral cat spay/neuter program |
| Total | $32.3 million | $4.51 allocated or committed to date |
Into the future
Gately’s 30-minute presentation was jam-packed with information and left no doubts: “You can see there is a great deal going on,” he said. The influx of grants and settlement money has been good for local businesses as well as the county generally, he added.
“It takes the entire community’s commitment for a full recovery to happen.”
Zachary Gately, Plumas County grant manager
“It’s important for both community organizations and the county to look at the opportunities. The county can shepherd this effort but it takes the entire community’s commitment for a full recovery to happen. How we use these and future funds will determine how we come together as a community to create facilities and spaces that are usable for everybody,“ said Gately.
It’s been three and a half years since the Dixie Fire devastated Plumas County. “It’s important to recognize how far we’ve come and the opportunities we have to create even more opportunities as we move forward,” he said.
Gately’s full report is available on the Plumas County website. He is scheduled to present it again at the Dixie Fire Collaborative’s Feb. 15 meeting, which starts at 11 a.m. at Indian Valley Academy in Greenville. Gately’s Jan. 21 memo to the board of supervisors includes links to all of the resources and information referenced in the presentation. The combined slide presentation with information links is also available online.
