“What does it mean to mitigate natural hazards?” asks the Plumas County Office of Emergency Services. The topic will be up for discussion at two meetings May 8, in which Plumas County residents have a chance to participate in the planning process to make local communities more resilient to disasters. The county, city of Portola and other local government entities are teaming up to study natural hazard risks in the county.
Residents, visitors and workers in Plumas County are all welcome to come share their personal experiences and local knowledge about extreme weather events and other natural hazards such as flood and wildfire, said OES. This helps to create a full picture of the county and its challenges when it comes to identifying and prioritizing projects that help reduce the impacts of future hazard events and disasters.
Plumas County is partnering with the city of Portola and several special districts to update the 2020 Plumas County and 2019 city of Portola local hazard mitigation plans. Wildfire, floods, drought and severe weather are just a few of the hazards of concern in Plumas County. Since the project kickoff in January, the project team has been focused on collecting data to inform the updated risk assessment.
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. The goal of the project is to have a multijurisdictional LHMP approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This will then allow the county, city and special districts to apply for both pre- and postdisaster mitigation grant funding.
The community is invited. Members of the public and all interested stakeholders are encouraged to attend and participate in the upcoming risk assessment meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to share draft risk assessment materials — including mapping, data and other information — and invite feedback. Those interested can select the meeting and time that works best for them. Both meetings are set for Thursday, May 8, at the Quincy library, 445 Jackson St.
The committee meeting will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. It is open to the public. The public meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. A virtual option is available for this meeting; registration is available at http://bit.ly/42LC5ek.
More information on the 2026 multijurisdictional LHMP update is available at https://www.plumascounty.us/2214/Multi-Hazard-Mitigation-Plan. Questions can be directed to Lori Pini, manager, Plumas County Office of Emergency Services, at 530-283-7438 or [email protected].
