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Wenatchee council adopts updated Chelan County multijurisdictional hazard mitigation plan
Summary
The City Council passed Resolution No. 2025‑10 adopting the 2024 Chelan County Multi‑Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan and the City of Wenatchee annex; the plan updates the countywide risk assessment, prioritizes wildfire, windstorms and earthquake, and identifies projects eligible for FEMA mitigation funding including a long‑term reservoir
The Wenatchee City Council voted to adopt the Chelan County Multi‑Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan (2024 update) and the City of Wenatchee annex by passing Resolution No. 2025‑10. Council Member Harold moved the resolution, Council Member Cuevas seconded it, and the council approved the resolution by voice vote.
Deputy Public Works Director Jessica Shaw summarized the update: the countywide plan and the city annex update the community risk assessment and identify actions the city and county can take to prepare for and mitigate natural hazards over the next five years, 2024–2029. The updated risk ranking placed severe weather and windstorms, wildfire and earthquake among the top hazards; the plan also considers drought, flood and landslide risks and scores avalanche as minimal for the city.
Shaw told the council the plan also identifies projects that could be eligible for FEMA mitigation grant funding and highlighted a major local infrastructure concern: the city’s nearly 100‑year‑old, 4,000,000‑gallon Okanogan drinking water reservoir, which she said “is not likely to survive an earthquake” and is a candidate for seismic resilience and additional storage work.
Shaw said the plan update followed a countywide process that included fire districts, county and city staff and citizens and noted the update helps the city access FEMA funding and coordinate regional preparedness and recovery efforts. She described work in the city annex to identify achievable actions over the next five years and referenced prior events—flooding, heavy snow, windstorms and wildfire smoke—that informed the assessment. The council then moved to adopt the plan by resolution.
Following the motion by Council Member Harold and second by Council Member Cuevas, the council voted by voice and the mayor announced the motion carried.
The adopted plan will be used to guide hazard mitigation priorities and to support applications for FEMA mitigation funding; the council did not set a separate schedule for specific grant applications during the meeting.
