Plumas County chief administrative officer details $29 million in post‑Dixie Fire grants and recovery programs

Deborah Lucero, Plumas County’s county administrative officer, gave the Board of Supervisors a high‑level recap of post‑Dixie Fire recovery programs and grants at the Jan. 21 meeting, outlining business grants, housing programs and planned investments the county is pursuing or has already spent.

Lucero told the board the county has deployed multiple funding sources — including American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, LATCF allocations and PG&E and insurance settlements — and listed roughly $3 million in direct support to businesses plus approximately $26 million in housing and infrastructure commitments for a combined total near $29 million. She described ongoing programs ranging from microenterprise grants to a Recover California program that can provide up to $500,000 per household for rebuilding.

Key programs described included ARPA‑funded micro‑grants and an ARPA‑supported small‑business grant round, a micro‑enterprise assistance program that distributed about $409,000 to businesses, a Dixie Fire recovery for‑profit grant program (active, targeted to census blocks affected by evacuations), and library digital‑equity investments. Lucero also highlighted the Recover California program administered by the state Department of Housing and Community Development, which may provide up to $500,000 per household for rebuilding and up to $75,000 for mitigation and hardening work for qualifying households under revised income limits.

Lucero said the county has a pipeline of additional initiatives and funding applications, including a rural recreation economy planning grant that will finance a community coordinator and workshops; infrastructure projects such as broadband design for an Indian Valley hut site; and the long‑term recovery coordinator position the county anticipates hiring. She summarized outside support from partners and foundations, noting there is ongoing work with Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship, the Sierra Economic Development District (SEDD) and North Valley Community Foundation.

"We have accomplished a lot as a county, holistically speaking, to get us to where we are today, and we should be proud of that and recognize what has happened," Lucero told the board. She also noted the complexity of recovery outcomes and urged patience: "A disaster recovery includes both meeting immediate and short‑term needs as well as planning for the long‑term recovery and rebuilding of a community that may require years and sometimes decades," she quoted from the North Valley Community Foundation.

Why it matters: The update framed dozens of grants and programs in a single view for the board and public, provided status on housing‑related funding and signaled next steps: the county plans to continue applying for state and federal grants, will move forward on select pilot projects (notably broadband and energy resilience), and will bring follow‑up items — including possible policy on how to prioritize settlement funds — back to the board at future workshops.

What’s next: Lucero suggested the board could develop a wildfire recovery funding plan, possibly via a public workshop tied to the midyear budget workshop in March. Several board members asked staff to return with prioritization proposals and recommendations for how to allocate restricted settlement and insurance monies.