Placer County draft Hazard Mitigation Plan public comment period opens March 23

Placer County presented an overview of its draft Hazard Mitigation Plan at its fourth HMP Committee meeting on March 16, to 63 agencies and members of the public. The HMP draft public comment period begins March 23 and runs through April 21. The HMP creation process began in July 2025. It assesses the risk of floods, drought, wildfires, severe weather and other natural hazards of concern to Placer County. While hazards are not always preventable, notes Placer County, the plan establishes the foundation for long-term strategies to reduce disaster losses. It also makes participating jurisdictions eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency grants. The Placer County HMP includes 19 chapters in the plan itself and 36 annexes from the partnering agencies and jurisdictions. "Every participating jurisdiction has met the criteria to be included in the plan," said Sasha Jones of Tetra Tech, the consulting firm that prepared the plan. "Each will have its own annex. "When reviewing the plan, don't limit yourself to the review of the city you live in," advised Jones. "Look at all of the county agencies and special districts." Placer County had a higher-than-average number of agencies and special districts decide to participate in the plan, from water agencies and schools to the Auburn Recreation District, according to Bret Spencer of Tetra Tech. "It's one of the larger plans in California," noted Spencer. As part of the HMP process, Placer County conducted a survey and received 298 responses with 110 coming from unincorporated Placer and 47 from Auburn. All of the municipalities participated in the HMP except for Roseville, which completed its own plan. The HMP only addresses "natural disasters" and their impacts to people, infrastructure and economy. Placer County has 10 identified hazards: avalanche, dam and levee failure, drought and water shortages, earthquake, flood, freeze and snow, heavy rain and storm, high wind and tornado; land, mudslide and debris flow; and wildfire. Wildfire was identified as a high risk and the others as low for the county as a whole. However, individual agencies or municipalities might have different ratings – snow and avalanche would be a hazard for Tahoe but not for Lincoln, as an example. "This is not a static score," said Spencer. "In certain areas, the risk ranking may change." Following the public comment period, the plan will be finalized and then submitted to CalOES in May. CalOES will have 45 days to approve it. It then goes to FEMA for review and approval in July. A FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan allows agencies to apply for pre- and post-disaster mitigation grant funding. It can also increase community ratings used for the National Flood Insurance Program, which can result in lower flood insurance premiums through the program. "We are encouraging multiple agencies to work together," said Spencer of applying for grants. "FEMA is more inclined to work with agencies that come together and team up because there is a bigger net benefit." To complete the process, all participating jurisdictions will need to adopt the plan via resolution at a council, board or commission meeting as early as August 2026. The plans will require annual monitoring and evaluation, with an update every five years. Videos of previous meetings and other information can be found at https://engage.placer.ca.gov/Hazard-Mitigation-Plan-2026.