Clearlake’s City Council received a status update Nov. 6 on the Lake County Climate Adaptation Plan and associated climate vulnerability analysis, delivered by Shannon Walker Smith, deputy community development director for Lake County, and Jacqueline Prossen Rohrer of PlaceWorks. The plan covers unincorporated Lake County and the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport and will be organized around 10 “pillars of landscape resilience.”

Consultants said the vulnerability analysis evaluated 91 population groups and assets against eight climate hazards and identified wildfire and smoke as creating the most widespread vulnerabilities. The analysis lists the most vulnerable populations as people of color and immigrant communities, financially constrained households, people with chronic illnesses or disabilities, older adults, people with high outdoor exposure (including unhoused people and outdoor workers), and tribal communities. The most vulnerable community assets include energy and communication infrastructure, older and manufactured homes, transportation infrastructure, agriculture and the recreation/tourism economy.

"Wildfire and smoke create the most vulnerabilities across all sectors," Jacqueline Prossen Rohrer said during the presentation. She described a four-step analytical approach — exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity and overall vulnerability — anchored to the California Adaptation Planning Guide.

The adaptation plan organizes responses by goal, strategy and action and will include implementation details for each action (responsible agencies, time frames, cost estimates and potential funding sources). The plan’s ten pillars include air quality, biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, economic diversity, fire-adapted communities, fire dynamics, forest resilience, social and cultural well-being, water security and wetland integrity. Example strategies discussed included habitat connectivity, invasive species control, drought resilience measures for vulnerable households, microgrids for critical facilities, and resilience hubs and public-health integration for emergency outreach.

Council members and residents stressed local priorities during discussion. Council member Hooten asked for emphasis on Clear Lake water quality; several speakers asked that evacuation-zone information and outreach be made accessible to residents without reliable internet access. The consultants said the public draft will be posted on the Lake County 2050 website, that tribes are reviewing the plan, and that staff will circulate the presentation to council members.

The presentation did not include a council action item; staff indicated the public draft will be released for formal review and that adoption is anticipated in January with implementation to follow as funding and partnerships are identified.

Why this matters: the plan is intended to guide multi-decade decisions about land use, infrastructure and emergency preparedness across the county and both cities. It links to the county general plan update, the multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan and local water- and wildfire-related plans, and aims to prioritize investments where vulnerabilities are greatest.

Key quotes

"The goal of the climate adaptation plan is to develop a road map for building climate resilience across Lake County," Shannon Walker Smith said. "The plan will provide practical and feasible solutions to reduce climate risks considering existing resources, gaps, and capacity constraints."

"We heard community suggestions to rehabilitate Clear Lake, underground electrical lines and use controlled burns and grazing as fuel-reduction tools," the consultant team reported when summarizing community input.

Ending

The council provided feedback and asked staff to ensure the public draft and presentation are broadly available; no regulatory action was taken at the Nov. 6 meeting. The project website is LakeCounty2050.org and the consultants said tribes are reviewing the draft prior to the formal public comment period.