The Oregon Forestry Department said Thursday that the map needs to be refined
The state will take a fresh look at the wildfire risk map released last month. [Map from Oregon Explorer]
The director of the Oregon Department of Forestry announced Thursday afternoon that the state is withdrawing the wildfire risk map created and released last month.
Notices sent to property owners listed on the map as high and extreme risk areas and urban-forest interface areas are also cancelled.
The wildfire risk map, created as part of SB 762, which passed the Legislature in 2021, was the subject of a public hearing held last Wednesday that drew more than 1,200 viewers via Zoom.
Meetings to discuss the map and what it means for property owners were scheduled to be held in person in Medford and Grants Pass, but the in-person meetings were canceled after ODF said it received a threatening message in Grants Pass.
Those who attended the Zoom meeting raised a number of concerns about the risk map, including inaccurate maps, increased property insurance, cancellation of insurance and the perceived unfairness of private property owners being forced to bear the costs of wildfires that start on federal lands or that are started by utilities or arsonists.
The day after the meeting, state Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, sponsor of SB 762, said he thought the map needed to be refined.
“I think this map needs work,” Golden said. “I think there are gaps in that map between what the science tells us and what you see with your own eyes when you walk around. And we need to engage more with the insurance industry. … We need to make sure that people who do everything they can to reduce their fire risk can get insurance.”
“In response to input received since publication, we have decided to remove the current iteration of the Oregon Explorer wildfire risk map and withdraw the posted advisories,” said a statement released Thursday by Cal Mukumoto, Oregon State Forester and Oregon Director. Department of Forestry.
“We will immediately begin working with Oregon State University on some refinements to improve the accuracy of risk rating assignments based on what we have heard from property owners so far,” the statement continued.
People who own property in high or extreme wildfire risk areas within an urban-forest interface zone may face a number of new requirements under SB 762, including tightening building codes of the home still being drafted, new defensible space requirements yet to be revealed, and quite possibly higher insurance rates or even cancellation of insurance.
As many as 120,000 tax lots, about 8.8 percent of Oregon properties, are within the highest-risk areas, OSU researcher Chris Dunn said at the Zoom meeting.
Property owners in the high and extreme risk areas of the new fire map received a written notice from the ODF last week indicating the risk class of their property and whether it is located at the urban-forest interface .
The notices said people who received the notices could be subject to future defensible space or building code requirements. The notices also gave property owners information on how to file an appeal if they disagreed with their classification on the map. Now, those notices are being withdrawn and the appeals process has been postponed, according to Mukumoto’s statement.
“Since we are withdrawing the map and initial notifications, the current appeals process will end and any appeals filed will be moot,” Mukumoto said. “For those who have lodged an appeal, we will review the information submitted and use it to identify any additional areas where we may need to take a closer look at the data.
“Please note that this decision does not affect the code development and adoption processes currently underway through the State Fire Marshal’s Office for Defensible Space or the Codes Division of construction for the hardening of the home.
“Although we met the bill’s initial deadline to deliver it to the map, there was not enough time to allow for the kind of outreach and local engagement that people wanted, needed and deserved. Once once this round of refinements is complete, we plan to bring a draft of the updated map to the communities for discussion and input.
“After another round of revisions based on local input, the map will be finalized. We will then post an updated map to the Oregon Explorer and post new notices to property owners with extreme and high risk classifications, which will start a new appeal period.
“We are in the process of developing a plan and timeline for completing these activities, including opportunities for public engagement and outreach. We will share this publicly as soon as it is complete.”
Contact Mail Tribune Editor David Smigelski at 541-776-4484 or dsmigelski@rosebudmedia.com.
