Letters informing some Oregon property owners they are in areas of high wildfire hazard were supposed to go out over a month ago. Residents are still waiting.

One purpose of Oregon’s wildfire hazard map, mandated last year by Senate Bill 80, is to identify tax lots within both high-hazard zones, which describe the risk and potential intensity of a fire, as well as semi-rural wildland-urban interface areas.

According to the Oregon Department of Forestry’s timeline, the state planned to send letters to owners of those parcels that fall within both categories on Oct. 1, describing what actions they may need to take to protect their homes and community from wildfire.

But over a month later, residents are still waiting. According to the ODF, property owners can expect to finally receive notifications in about two weeks.

Derek Gasperini, communications manager with ODF, said the delay is in part because the state needed to sort through over 2,000 public comments on the draft wildfire hazard map released over the summer. The state rescinded a previous version of the map in 2022 following public backlash. Officials didn’t respond to all of those comments on the new draft, but the map was updated slightly after taking into consideration some common themes from criticism.

“The biggest recent change is what we’re calling ‘smoothing,’” said Gasperini. “It was difficult for folks to visually understand… how two neighboring properties could be different hazard designations.”

He said the new version of the map will have small adjustments to help residents better understand the division between different hazard levels.

“It still ends up being about the same number of property tax lots but there’s been some designation changes to…. have more contiguous lines in those differences between high hazard, moderate hazard or moderate and low,” Gasperini said.

Another reason for the delay in mailing out notifications, according to Gasperini, is the administrative challenges of sending out 12-page packets by certified mail to around 100,000 residents.

Those packets, many of which will be sent to Southern Oregon, include draft codes explaining what property owners might be required to do, like use building materials resistant to fire and maintain a buffer between structures and vegetation. But Gasperini said any enforcement of those codes will come later.

“We’re just trying to provide as much information to folks about what the designation means, minimizing that concern for immediately having to do home hardening or defensible space that’s going to have a cost to property owners,” he said.

Once the final codes are passed by the Oregon State Fire Marshal and Building Codes Division, which will happen after the final version of the map is released, those property owners already in compliance won’t need to do anything, he explained.

“If you already have appropriate defensible space, then the designation of high hazard and wildland-urban interface will not require you to do anything more than you’ve already done,” Gasperini said.

After residents receive their packets, they will have 60 days to appeal their property’s designation. Gasperini said he doesn’t want to discourage anyone’s right to appeal, but noted the chances of a successful challenge are slim.

“Because the map is based on climate, weather, topography and vegetation, it’s really an appeal on incorrect data or misapplication of the law and rules,” Gasperini said.

Nevertheless, he said the state is preparing for the appeal process with a plan for residents to go through their hearings remotely. The final version of the wildfire hazard map will be released once that 60-day window closes.

This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2024/11/07/oreegonians-wildfire-risk-notification/