Ukiah advances climate action plan, resilience work and emergency preparedness

Blake Adams, Ukiah’s Chief Resilience Officer, told the council the city has finalized a draft Climate Action Plan that is out for public comment and is preparing a complementary climate adaptation and resilience strategy that focuses on hazard mitigation and emergency preparedness.

Adams said the city has supported county efforts on a community wildfire protection plan and expects work on the multi‑jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan to begin. He told council staff has secured roughly $1,400,000 in Cal Fire grant funding to support an urban tree‑canopy buildout in Ukiah.

Tracy Boyle, the city’s Emergency Management Coordinator, summarized accomplishments from the past year including a community‑wide "Ready Together" preparedness training, quarterly staff preparedness newsletters, and development of a continuity of operations plan that will be reviewed by the disaster council for final approval. Boyle said the continuity plan will identify backup sites and essential services if the civic center were unusable.

Council members raised concerns about wildfire‑related tree‑clearing guidance and the tension between defensible space and urban canopy for heat mitigation. Adams acknowledged that mapping and state guidance are evolving and called for pragmatic local discussions, while Riley and other staff noted state policy coordination remains incomplete.

No formal council action was taken; staff recommended continuing public comment and finalizing the Climate Action Plan and resilience strategy for council adoption.