Ahead of ‘aggressive’ wildfire season, Kotek urges Oregonians to act 

The state’s top wildfire leaders met with Gov. Tina Kotek at a supply cache Wednesday to share the latest outlook for what may be another summer of extreme activity. 

At a press conference following her briefing, Kotek warned that although the state received plenty of snow and rain earlier this year, recent weeks have been abnormally dry. As a result, there’s now an abundance of tall grass and dense shrubs that can easily catch fire. Combined with days getting hotter, this means western Oregon cities like Eugene and Springfield must take wildfire danger more seriously than ever. 

“What we know to be an average fire season has very long passed,” said Kotek. “By July and August, we will experience above-average severity that will culminate in September and October, as we reach peak fire danger. In summary, we are preparing for what is likely to be an even more aggressive and increasingly difficult to control wildfire season this year.” 

The state is coming off a historic wildfire season in terms of total acres burned, more than 2 million acres.It was so costly Kotek had to call a special legislative session to settle more than $200 million in bills. 

Taxpayers ultimately paid through allocations from the state’s general fund, even though state-owned land accounted for less than 2 percent of what was burned. More than half the land in Oregon is federally owned, with large swaths of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land in Lane County.

“People need to understand the fire season has begun,” Kotek said. 

What is our risk in Eugene and Springfield? 

Nearly all of Springfield falls within a wildland-urban interface boundary, a transitional zone where forested landscapes or grasslands meet developed residential areas or city centers. Parts of Eugene are also designated as wildland-urban interface zones, particularly in neighborhoods along the city limits. 

The answer to what’s most at risk within these boundaries isn’t straightforward. Estimating risk is complex, partly because scientists can’t predict where a fire will start — especially since most are human-caused — or how strong the wind will blow or in which direction. Because of this uncertainty, defining what’s at risk, such as property, becomes an almost impossible task, some researchers say. 

For example, Mount Pisgah may face a higher likelihood of ignition because fire can easily spread through the forests and meadows in summer. But downtown Eugene holds far more structural value and human lives. And with the right wind conditions, a wildfire can move into town, becoming a fast-moving structure fire.

These fast-moving fires are increasingly blurring the boundary between wildland and urban fires — a reality brought into sharper focus after the Los Angeles fires earlier this year. Should a wildfire that threatens people, homes or critical infrastructure exceed local capacity, and an emergency is invoked by the governor, the Oregon Department of the State Fire Marshal is responsible for deploying additional firefighters and equipment to Eugene and Springfield.

Adapting to change 

It takes every level of government, and the people who live in these communities, to keep fires at bay, Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple told reporters Wednesday. Living with fire today isn’t the same as it was decades ago, she said. 

“Fires are moving north and west, and these are areas that aren’t as familiar [with fire] as much as you might see in southwest and eastern Oregon,” Ruiz-Temple told Lookout when we asked about fire preparedness in Eugene and Springfield. “Things are changing, conditions are changing, and with that Oregonians’ response to fire needs to change.” 

There are a few ways people can prepare for wildfire season. One is having an escape route mapped out in advance and a go bag ready. Ruiz-Temple encourages people to sign up for emergency information from the OR-Alert system, which will notify people if a wildfire evacuation is happening where they live.  

Another is creating defensible space or hardening your home. That’s when people upgrade home materials to withstand embers and clear vegetation to reduce the chance of flames reaching the house.

Ruiz-Temple’s office offers free assessments of the defensible space. They’ve completed 4,500 in the last couple of years. Additionally, her department recently launched a partnership with the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety on a certificate program for homeowners who prepare for wildfires. 

Additionally, Lane County recently opened its Firewise Grant Incentive Program for applications. 

But the program is small and only reimburses rural property owners for eligible costs in their fire risk reduction projects. Though, the county program manager told Lookout Eugene-Springfield that even simple, low-cost steps like basic yard maintenance — cleaning gutters and trimming branches — can make a difference in creating defensible space. 

Further, new state incentives that would help with the up-front costs of hardening their home have lagged, according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle. 

Trump 2.0 hits to be determined 

Oregon is well-stocked and staffed for the start of the season, but how those resources will hold up over the summer remains to be seen.

Right now, the state has about $5 million of supplies and vehicles, such as water hoses and engines, in its fire cache in Salem, one of 24 across the state. Nearly 85 percent of the cache’s wildfire supplies are produced in Canada, according to cache manager David Allen. He is preparing for higher costs depending on how President Trump’s trade war plays out in Oregon. 

“We’ve jumped the gun and started bringing in those supplies ahead of time,” Allen said. 

Staffing also has been affected under the Trump administration, which has made cuts to agencies like the U.S. Forest Service that helps respond to fires. 

Kyle Williams, deputy director of fire operations at the Oregon Department of Forestry, said the state expects to hire around 400 seasonal staff, in addition to its nearly 700 permanent employees. Contractors will also provide 20-person crews. He added that federal partners expect to hire staff as well, though he did not provide specific agencies or numbers.

“We are preparing for the fire season as we would any year,” Williams said. “What might not show up on the fire line is still yet to be determined, but we are going to be as prepared as possible.”