County Plans

Hazard Mitigation Plan

Welcome  

The HMP will help our communities to prevent significant property damage and loss of life in the event of a disaster. The HMP is required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) every five years for our community to be eligible for certain types of grant funding. You can visit this page for project updates and ways that community members can influence plan development. 

The goal of the project is to save lives, property, and natural resources by reducing the vulnerability of Yakima County to disaster events. During this planning project, local leaders and community members will identify risks, assess capabilities, and formulate a strategy to reduce our community’s disaster vulnerability. 

Public and stakeholder participation and feedback are vital parts of the hazard mitigation planning process. Please check back regularly for information on upcoming opportunities to engage in the planning process. If you would like to get in touch with the project team, please use the following contact information. 

Project Contact: 

Tony Miller, Director 

antone.miller@co.yakima.wa.us

To review the current Yakima County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan click here Version Options County Plans Headline 

Under the federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000), communities that do not have a FEMA approved hazard mitigation plan in place are no longer eligible for FEMA project grants under long standing programs such as the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program (FMA), Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and the Building Resilience Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC).

Yakima County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP)

Yakima County Community Wildfire Protection Plan

The CWPP was collaboratively developed with input from interested parties, key stakeholders, fire districts, and private, county, state, and federal agencies managing land or responsible for wildfire preparedness, response, and recovery efforts in Yakima County. It identifies and prioritizes areas for hazardous fuel reduction treatments and recommends the types and methods of treatment to protect communities and measures to reduce structure ignitability throughout Yakima County.

Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP)

2025 Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan

A comprehensive emergency management plan is a basic plan with elements that address all natural and man-made disasters to which a political subdivision is vulnerable. The comprehensive emergency management plan specifies the purpose, organization, core capabilities, and responsibilities of the various agencies involved in disaster response and recovery. These responsibilities are broken down into what is referred to as ESFs (Emergency Support Functions).

Emergency response and coordination are strongly dependent on a common understanding of roles and responsibilities, as well as pre-established relationships. The revision/update is an ongoing process that provides an opportunity to engage with each other,

1) to gain a better understanding of what to expect from one another, and

2) to build improved working relationships with those who you may engage closely with during an incident.

Regardless of jurisdiction or organization, this process is a time to revisit expectations and legal responsibilities. If you are a city or town representative participating, this is a time to improve your understanding of how the county anticipates response to improve your own plans, as well as gain awareness of resource gaps needed to fill in your own jurisdiction.

The Washington State Military Department, Emergency Management Division (WEMD) Director Robert Ezelle congratulated Yakima County and Yakima Valley Emergency Management ’on this significant endeavor’ of the CEMP Revision in a letter dated August 6, 2025.

In Washington State, emergency management offices have numerous emergency plans. Our two most overarching plans are the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) and the Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP).