Ashland, Oregon, is finalizing a plan that will hopefully make the city a climate refuge in the era of massive wildfires. It’s the first update in more than 20 years.

The 300-page wildfire preparedness plan outlines 44 challenges Ashland faces and proposes 200 initiatives to reduce risk citywide.

At-risk communities, like Ashland, must have a plan in place to be prioritized for federal funding.

Chris Chambers with Ashland Fire and Rescue said the plan is meant to belong to the community, not the city, which is why the city’s logo was removed from the cover.

Chambers presented the final draft to the City Council Monday night. He said the city needs to reduce the risk of nearly every building in Ashland to truly be safe from wildfire.

“Voluntary programs — even programs with incentives, where we’re paying people to do the right thing — is just not enough," Chambers said. “We don’t get the kind of rates of participation, and we never will get to that 90% level to protect our community.”

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He said the city will need to require homeowners to make changes to reduce fire risk, which likely includes updating city codes. But implementation would be gradual.

“Not showing up tomorrow with a citation book and a badge,” Chambers said. “But showing up and saying, ‘Hey, here’s a brochure about what this project is. Here are the standards.’ We are going to roll it out in a way that is strategically smart across the landscape, not scatter shot.”

Turning Ashland into a “climate refuge” that attracts people because of wildfire preparedness will be difficult and expensive. The plan estimates that about $8 million a year, split between the city, community groups and property owners, will be needed to meet the goals.

Charisse Sydoriak, a volunteer who has been working on the plan, said implementing the plan will require a dedicated staff member.

“I have worked with the city staff for years, two of them that really work on this topic,” she said. " They are so overworked and overstretched that this plan will languish if there’s an expectation that they facilitate implementation."

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That dedicated person may work for a nonprofit rather than the city. But Sydoriak said this person will need to build relationships and fundraise to ensure the plan is accomplished.

Chambers said he hopes the bold vision will help bring in the money needed to implement it.

“I think a lot of communities haven’t thought this way about their CWPP,” he said. ”I hope that’s going to attract investment to see, ‘Can one community actually tackle this problem in a way that is really cohesive with an equity lens built into it.’”

City Council members wanted to know what else the city should be doing and how much more it would cost.

The council is expected to adopt the plan in mid-August.

Roman Battaglia is a reporter with Jefferson Public Radio. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/16/ashland-plans-reduce-wildfire-risk/