Wildfire was one of the topics at the Wasco County Commissoners meeting yesterday. Commissioner Scott Hege noted that he had been at a community meeting on the microwave tower fire in Mosier, and heard the county’s emergency mangagement director Sheridon Mclellan discussing evacuation levels:
“He made the comment that anybody that lives in Oregon is always at Level 1. So, you know, this is really kind of a poignant statement, particularly, you know, we’re out here in the rural part. Wildfire is something that’s part of our lives now.”
But there’s statewide concern about wildfire coming from another direction. That is the new wildfire risk map issued by the Oregon Department of Forestry working with Oregon State University. The new map was required as part of Senate Bill 80 passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2023. It gives a rating for every single tax lot in the state — dark orange for high, blue for moderate and green for low . Much of Eastern Oregon and most of Wasco County itself is dark orange on the map, designating it high risk.
The legislation says “The Oregon Wildfire Risk Explorer,” as the map is called, must be the official wildfire planning and hazard classification mapping tool for the State of Oregon.
That has a number of people concerned that insurance companies will use the designations on this map a justification to raise insurance rates. That concern intensifies when people look at the map. There seems to be little or no rhyme nor reason to the designations of the properties. Often lots that are rignt next to each other, sharing the same geographic features, are given different designations. There are situations where a ring of lots marked moderate, surround a single lot marked high risk. Satellite views show no distinguishing features between the lots. Dan Van Vactor, a south countly land owner told commissioners that:
“In discussions I had yesterday with Commissioner Kramer, he indicated that there are more than twelve potential regulatory impacts. The state has not told been clear about how it’s going to affect them.”
Steve Griffith, also of south Wasco County, pointed out the map even designated the lot the Wamic fire department sits on is shown as high risk.
This is draft stage of the map, and there is one chance for local residents to comment at a special meeting August 26 at Freebridge Brewing. That’s a Monday night when the brewery is normally closed, but will be open for this event.