Nevada City, CA – Today, the Nevada County Board of Supervisors adopted the 2024 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) Update, which is the final step in completing the plan. The plan was already reviewed by the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has provided a formal “Approval Pending Adoption” letter, verifying that the plan meets all requirements.
The update was made possible by FEMA Hazard Mitigation grant funding awarded to Nevada County in late 2022. “This plan is the culmination of 18 months of hard work by our local planning partners, key stakeholders and the community” said Paul Cummings, Nevada County Office of Emergency Services Program Manager.
OES partnered with six planning partners and nine steering committee organizations to complete the update of the LHMP, which will be valid for five years.
A LHMP is a requirement of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 to apply for and/or receive certain types of FEMA funds, including Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grants which have funded projects like the South Yuba Rim Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project.
More Information About the Project
The 2024 LHMP Update is part of the Nevada County “Roadmap to Resilience,” a holistic all- disaster planning effort that aims to prioritize key opportunities for action. The “Roadmap” consists of three core plans: the LHMP, the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, and an Evacuation Study.
The LHMP specifically outlines risks and vulnerabilities to provide a focal point for actions that reduce the impact of natural hazards. It includes a countywide mitigation strategy for reducing potential losses based on existing authorities, policies, programs and resources as well as jurisdiction-specific annexes.
“The City of Nevada City appreciates the collaboration of our regional governmental partners in creating a multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan that accounts for local needs, while recognizing the unique and overlapping challenges amongst all of our communities. We
appreciate the work of staff and the leadership of the Board of Supervisors in bringing all the stakeholders together for this robust process,” said Nevada City Manager Sean Grayson.
For more information, visit www.ReadyNevadaCounty.org/LHMP.
About the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services (OES)
OES works under the Emergency Preparedness Board Objective, leading the community in all hazards planning, preparedness, response, and recovery with a focus on wildfire. OES focuses on improving county-wide evacuation routes and safety, continuing to strengthen early alert and critical communication systems, and working with residents and community partners in emergency preparedness, defensible space, home hardening, green waste disposal, and fire- safe land stewardship. Learn more about OES at www.ReadyNevadaCounty.org.