Walden visits CRR to discuss wildfire protection
Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore, paid a visit Friday to Crooked River Ranch to discuss his legislation to help better protect the community from wildfires.
The Crooked River Ranch Fire Protection Act (HR 2075) will go before the House next week.
If passed into law, it would make boundary adjustments to 800 acres of wilderness study area so mechanical fire mitigation could be introduced.
Currently, only hand tools are allowed to be used on the land, and some worry that with the close proximity to homes, the area is ripe for devastating wildfires.
According to Walden, the lands are in the highest risk category for exposure to wildfire due to overstocked juniper stands under the federally mandated and locally promulgated Jefferson County Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
“I think life and safety issues override the visuals in this case,” Walden said, “because we know in talking to the professional firefighters that they are really worried about what happens if fire breaks out and their ability to even go fight it — and that has to trump it, it just does.”
Crooked River Ranch is an unincorporated community of about 5,500 residents that straddles the Jefferson and Deschutes county line. The lands adjacent to the community are managed by the Bureau of Land Management and are classified as a wilderness study area.
David Palmer, president of the Crooked River Ranch Homeowners Association, said he believes the passage of Walden’s measure is absolutely critical for the protection of the community.
“If we get a fire here, we’re going to lose properties, it’s just that simple,” Palmer said. “And hopefully we would have enough time to know that and get people out. But it just can’t be overstated, the importance of getting this bill passed, so we have a protection and buffer zone, so we have the ability to work, should something happen.”
If the measure is approved by the House, it still will have to make it through the Senate to get to President Trump’s desk for his signature.
