Board adopts updated local hazard mitigation plan; Tetra Tech says adoption keeps FEMA grants available

Tetra Tech consultant Sasha Jones told the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors that the updated Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) identifies natural hazards, assesses community vulnerability and capabilities, and lays out a five-year mitigation strategy that will allow the county to apply for FEMA hazard-mitigation grants.

"The bottom reason that we are putting together a hazard mitigation plan is that it opens you up to apply for FEMA's hazard mitigation assistance Grant programs," Jones said, describing the plan's goals, community lifelines approach, and outreach process (196 survey responses and multiple public/stakeholder meetings). The consultant said the plan ranks hazards by vulnerability, exposure and probability and incorporates climate-change impacts into hazard analysis.

The board voted to accept volume 1 and the county's portion of volume 2 of the 2026 plan; staff said the adoption enables local jurisdictions to apply for FEMA mitigation funding and establishes a schedule for annual monitoring meetings among participating jurisdictions.