The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) aims to provide funding and support for communities to implement mitigation activities that significantly reduce the risk to life, property, and infrastructure from natural hazards, furthering resilience against emergencies such as wildfires, earthquakes, droughts, extreme heat, floods, and other natural disasters as specified in the State Hazard Mitigation Plan.
The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), initiated after a Presidential Disaster Declaration and managed by FEMA in collaboration with California's Cal OES Hazard Mitigation Branch, aims to support plans and projects that lessen the impact of future natural disasters. This grant program is designed to help communities undertake mitigation efforts that reduce risks to life and property from a variety of natural hazards, including but not limited to wildfire, earthquake, drought, extreme weather, and flooding. HMGP also backs the development of Local Hazard Mitigation Plans (LHMP) and project scoping activities known as Advanced Assistance. There are specific funding caps for the development of LHMPs based on the number of jurisdictions participating, with a scale ranging from a maximum federal share of $150,000 for single jurisdiction plans to $300,000 for multi-jurisdiction plans with ten or more participants.