Oregon Wildfire Risk Map

The devastating fires of 2020 burned over a million acres and destroyed nearly 4,000 homes in Oregon.  In response, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 762 that allocates $220 million to reduce fuel loads in forests and to harden properties against wildfires in the Wildland - Urban Interface (WUI).  The bill also establishes requirements (the Oregon Defensible Space Code) for defensible space around structures in the WUI that are judged to be at a high or extreme level of risk.  The requirements go into effect in 2023, but an interactive wildfire risk map indicating tax lots covered by this new requirement is available now.

For properties identified by the risk map, the Defensible Space Code mandates common sense steps to harden structures against ignition by wildfires.  If you want to delve a bit deeper into the science of structure ignition check out this article.  Here is another comprehensive article on building or maintaining fire-hardened structures.  The benefits of complying with the Code will be reduced risk that your home and outbuildings will be destroyed in a wildfire.  It will help protect you and your neighbors from severe losses.  And it will help us (your fire department) protect your property.  It appears that some funds may be available to help property owners comply with the requirements if your property is designated as within the WUI and at high or extreme risk.  The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking from the Office of the Secretary of State states:

"Within the WUI, tax lots assigned a wildfire risk classification of high or extreme will be required to implement defensible space measures on said property, as determined by the Office of the State Fire Marshal in subsequent rulemaking. This requirement may potentially impose a labor requirement on the tax lot owner or require the owner to hire a contractor to complete the work. The specific need and requirements are indeterminate currently and will vary from tax lot to tax lot. Additionally, the designation high and extreme wildfire risk prioritizes funds for wildfire mitigation activities, which may be utilized to assist with the financial burden of defensible space requirements."

The online Oregon Wildfire Risk Explorer is the portal for the wildfire risk map and can be accessed to determine whether a particular property is subject to the new defensible space requirements.  The Oregon Explorer tool currently can provide a homeowners report on wildfire risk specific to your property, and indicates whether a property is subject to the new requirements (by being in the WUI and at extreme or high risk).  Most of Pine Grove falls into that category, but check the Risk Explorer to learn the situation for your property.