Oregon watchdog group urges ‘new vision’ for wildfire planning

In recent years, Oregonians have experienced increased risks to their health and lives, damage to natural resources, and destruction of homes from longer and more severe wildfire seasons.

This past year, Oregonians watched in despair as the Columbia River Gorge burned, and mourned the loss of life of those fighting and fleeing fires here. All Oregonians have felt the impacts of wildfire in their daily lives, activities and businesses due to air filled with smoke from fires ranging from British Columbia to northern California.

The land-use watchdog group 1000 Friends of Oregon said Monday it “aims to create a brighter future” and announced a report aimed at guiding lawmakers to make it happen.

More than 107,000 homes in Oregon, worth $12.7 billion and representing 8 percent of the state’s housing supply, face high or very high risk of wildfire, according to 1000 Friends of Oregon’s recently released report, A New Vision for Wildfire Planning: A Report on Land Use and Wildfires . Download the full report here.

“In recent years, every wildfire season seems to break records,” Russ Hoeflich, 1000 Friends of Oregon’s executive director, said in a news release. “We decided to delve into that. It will come as no surprise that there two main culprits: climate change and increasing development in wildfire-prone areas.”

The comprehensive 70-page report offers specific policy recommendations that 1000 Friends of Oregon hopes to see implemented during the 2019 legislative session, including:

Mapping wildfire risk across Oregon Avoiding development in high risk areas Minimizing structures in high risk areas to those necessary for farm and forest use Mitigating risks to existing and future developments where development cannot be avoided altogether Enforcing current laws and standards

Lawmakers are already beginning to take action, with Governor Kate Brown set to soon release an executive order for a wildfire study.

“We hope to guide policymakers and the Land Conservation and Development Commission as they endeavor to keep Oregonians safe and address growing concerns about wildfires in Oregon,” said Hoeflich. “Federal, state, local budgets have been woefully inadequate to cover fire-fighting costs, not to mention the costs of lost lives, homes, and businesses. We hope to see that change in 2019.”

Since 1974, 1000 Friends of Oregon has worked with Oregonians to enhance our quality of life by building livable urban and rural communities, protecting family farms and forests, and conserving natural areas. Learn more by visiting friends.org.