Wildfire Wednesday

How we build homes and other structures is critically important for whether they survive a wildfire. This can also make a meaningful difference in whether firefighters can save a neighborhood or community. Plus, building homes “wildfire smart from the start” is financially smart—for both the homeowner and the public.

Including tips from the Oregon Building Codes Department's wildfire resilient building code; the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety's report, Construction costs for wildfire resistant homes; and more.

Exploring recommendation 3 of the Wildfire Adapted Communities Recommendations Report, which involves building better subdivisions and neighborhoods to ensure safe evacuation and efficient firefighting response.

Building wildfire smart from the start does not cost more; rather, it is about using thoughtful, wildfire-informed design. Many of these principles can also be retrofitted into existing neighborhoods and subdivisions. 

During too many fires across the western United States, we have seen life-threatening traffic snarls. This can happen because incoming emergency vehicles and people fleeing wildfires are using the same routes, or because there is only one available route away from a wildfire that is quickly clogged with people escaping in vehicles and on foot.

Fortunately, Oregon’s land use planning program provides the tools to address this.

The increased frequency and severity of wildfire in Oregon is not just an abstract possibility. Some communities—like Talent, Phoenix, Detroit, and the Santiam area—have had to rebuild after significant wildfire damage, and many others have faced wildfire-related impacts to public health.

Oregonians are facing these significant challenges with characteristic toughness and ingenuity. Here are just a few examples of well-planned wildfire recovery and resilience measures that cities around the state are taking.

Last week, we looked at actions that individuals, families, and communities can take to protect homes and neighborhoods from the spread of embers and other wildfire-related dangers.

Now, we are zooming out to look at landscape-wide and statewide ways in which we can reduce wildfire risk to communities—which involves statewide policies and programs, including Oregon’s land use system.

When people think about making homes wildfire resilient, they often think about building them that way from the ground up. That is an option—which currently is only 2–11% more expensive on average—but what about the rest of us who live in already-built homes?

Fortunately, there are many ways to make those structures—and other buildings—wildfire resilient as well, including through state grants, incentives, and education about simple and cost-effective steps that can be taken on any home

This Oregon Wine Month and Wildfire Awareness Month, 1000 Friends of Oregon is proud to feature Winter’s Hill Estate, a Yamhill County vineyard where three generations of the Winter and Gladhart family have built a legacy rooted in care for the land and a deep sense of responsibility for its future.

They are also navigating an era of increased wildfire frequency and intensity with thoughtful and innovative approaches—including using sheep and goats to reduce vegetation density (pictured). In many ways, this family-owned business is creating hope for the future of Oregon wine.

Wildfire is a natural part of our ecosystem—although human-caused climate change, sprawl, and excessive fire suppression have increased its impacts. We can’t afford to ignore these realities—as, frankly, many did when they responded to the fear-mongering campaign that successfully demanded that the legislature repeal Oregon’s wildfire hazard map.

The good news is that there are actions we can and should take to live safely with wildfire. A better, safer, and more sustainable future is possible, but it calls for joining hands and working together.

In Oregon, our land use conservation and development system has helped us avoid some of the most devastating impacts of wildfires (so far)—especially our urban growth boundaries, which have prevented us from developing into the WUI at the rate that other western states have. But Oregon risks losing that advantage as developers, private property interests, and corporations increasingly push for expanding UGBs outward. This is occurring in tandem with mounting pressure to allow more commercial uses, tourist destinations, second homes, and subdivisions across our natural landscapes and working lands—especially in the wildland-urban interface (WUI).

As the threat of wildfires continues to multiply, 1000 Friends will persistently advocate for sound land use policies that reduce wildfire risk to protect our working lands, natural areas, towns, and cities.

Wildfire-Ready Oregon is a new tool to help all Oregonians prepare their homes, families, and communities for wildfire – useful whether you’re new to wildfire season or you’ve lived in wildfire country for decades.

In recent years, Oregonians have experienced increased risks to health and livelihood, damage to natural resources, and destruction of homes and treasured parts of Oregon from longer and more severe wildfire seasons. But it doesn’t have to be this way!

A comprehensive library of resources by our partner, Sightline Institute, that encompasses ways to live with wildfire and reduce risk to individuals, communities, and the region.

This nationwide program offers guidance for households and communities to implement wildfire risk-reduction measures including creating and maintaining defensible space, home hardening, and more.

This guidance covers the construction of new one- and two-family dwellings and significant accessory structures.