Issaquah committee backs hazard‑mitigation annex, urges swift action on earthquake and wildfire planning

Issaquah’s Services, Safety & Parks Committee on Feb. 24 recommended the city adopt an annex to the King County Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan and urged the administration to accelerate work on earthquake and wildfire mitigation strategies.

Emergency Manager Jared Snyder asked the committee to endorse the annex so Issaquah remains eligible for FEMA mitigation funding and other federal grant rounds. "Every dollar invested in mitigation saves $6 in future disaster costs," Snyder told the committee, citing FEMA findings and using that return‑on‑investment to frame the annex as a path to protect the general fund and leverage external grants.

The annex is designed as a five‑year, risk‑reduction work plan that would become part of King County’s regional document. Snyder said hazards identified in the annex include earthquakes, severe weather, landslides, wildfire, flood and human‑caused incidents (hazardous‑material releases, pandemics, cyber incidents and dam failures). Staff rankings placed wildfire and earthquake as…