Community feedback is essential to understanding real-world risks and setting priorities that reflect your needs and concerns.

Take the Survey

• Natural Hazard Information Public Survey (English)
• Natural Hazard Information Public Survey (Spanish)

Problem Area Survey

Placer County has launched a new Problem Area Survey to help inform the Hazard Mitigation Plan. The interactive tool allows users to drop a pin on a map to identify locations at risk of natural hazards—such as wildfires, landslides, or avalanches—that may not yet be on the County’s radar. Input from residents, businesses, and professionals will help the County better monitor developing risks. We encourage you to explore the survey and share it with others who have knowledge of local hazard conditions.

Get more information: engage.placer.ca.gov/Hazard-Mitigation-Plan-2026
View this page in Spanish

What is Hazard Mitigation?

The term “hazard mitigation” describes actions that can reduce or eliminate long-term risks caused by hazards or disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, and wildfires. As the costs of disasters continue to rise, governments and citizens must find ways to reduce hazard risks in their communities. As communities plan for new development and improvements to existing infrastructure, mitigation can and should be an important component of the planning effort. Often after disasters, repairs and reconstruction are completed in such a way as to simply restore damaged property to pre-disaster conditions. The implementation of hazard mitigation actions during reconstruction leads to stronger and safer communities.

What is a Hazard Mitigation Plan?

A hazard mitigation plan is the representation of the jurisdiction’s commitment to reduce risks from natural hazards, serving as a guide for decision makers as they commit resources to reducing the effects of natural hazards. Hazard mitigation planning can significantly reduce the physical, financial, and emotional losses caused by disasters. FEMA encourages and rewards local pre-disaster planning by making it a requirement to access certain grant programs. A hazard mitigation plan includes a community risk assessment, community capability assessment, and prioritized mitigation action plan.

Popular Mitigation Actions

• Enforce floodplain management codes, building codes, and environmental regulations
• Acquire or relocate structures, such as purchasing buildings located in a floodplain
• Acquire hazard prone lands in their undeveloped state to ensure they remain so
• Retrofit existing structures to be resilient to natural hazards
• Require or encourage wind engineering measures and construction techniques
• Develop and distribute outreach materials related to hazard mitigation
• Bury power lines and install electrical redundancies
• Build a safe room to provide protection during an earthquake or tornado
• Cut firebreaks into public wooded areas in the wildland-urban interface

Mitigation Project Types

• Local Plans and Regulations: These actions include government authorities, policies or codes that influence the way land and buildings are being developed and built.
• Structure and Infrastructure: These actions involve modifying existing structures and infrastructure to protect them from a hazard or remove them from a hazard area.
• Natural Systems Protection: These are actions that minimize damage and losses, and also preserve or restore the functions of natural systems.
• Education and Awareness Programs: These are actions to inform and educate citizens, elected officials, and property owners about hazards and potential ways to mitigate them.

Take the Community Survey

Anyone who lives or works in Placer County is invited to take the community survey. This is your chance to share your priorities and opinions regarding natural hazards and propose ideas for reducing risks and losses to the community.

• Natural Hazard Information Public Survey (English)
• Natural Hazard Information Public Survey (Spanish)