Oregon Introduces New Wildfire Rules for High-Risk Homeowners in 2025 to Mitigate Fire Hazards

Race Day Live (Portland, OR) – Oregon homeowners who live in high-risk wildfire regions specified by the state must now follow stricter building regulations and reduce vegetation surrounding their homes, according to new “wildfire hazard maps” released Tuesday.

The maps’ release comes after a record-breaking wildfire season last year and firestorms in 2020, which killed nine people and destroyed hundreds of homes.

According to Oregon law, the state-developed maps will have no effect on homeowners’ insurance rates. They impose new regulations for those who live in the most fire-prone areas that also border wildlands such as woods or grasslands. The restrictions affect 6% of the state’s approximately 1.9 million tax lots, down from an earlier version drafted in 2022 but withdrawn when residents expressed fears that it would boost insurance costs.

Climate change is making wildfire seasons longer and more intense, and Oregon isn’t the only state trying to figure out how to control the danger. Washington and Colorado have also recently taken steps to reduce fire danger in their towns, and a new law introduced in California last week would compel insurance companies to provide coverage in high-risk wildfire zones in order to continue doing business in the state.

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In Oregon, the new building and so-called defensible space standards will only affect approximately 106,000 tax parcels. However, experts say it’s a vital step in identifying and protecting fire-prone regions as the state deals with record-breaking wildfires.

Oregon fire authorities and experts revised the initial wildfire hazard maps after receiving thousands of public comments and hosting public forums across the state. McEvoy stated that significant modifications included lowering the hazard status of irrigated farms, as well as hay and grazing fields. The latter are frequently watered during haying and grazed for much of the fire season, reducing vegetative fuels on the terrain.

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Wildfire hazard maps have been in place in California, Arizona, and New Mexico for several years. Last year, Washington lawmakers ordered the building of a statewide wildfire risk map, and in 2023, Colorado passed legislation establishing a wildfire resiliency code board.

The adoption process for the defensible space regulations, which will be administered by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and the building codes, which will be handled by the Building regulations Division, will not begin until the wildfire danger maps’ appeals period has ended. The Oregon Department of Forestry will notify the owners of affected tax parcels.

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