In 2021, Senate Bill 762 was passed with bipartisan support that will provide more than $220 million to help Oregon modernize and improve wildfire preparedness through three key strategies: creating fire-adapted communities, developing safe and effective response, and increasing the resiliency of Oregon’s landscapes. The bill is the product of years of hard work by the Governor’s Wildfire Council, the Legislature, and state agencies. A wildfire risk map was created and then was replaced with a wildfire hazard map. The controversial wildfire maps were met with negative reactions by a wide range of rural and urban home and land owners.
In April 2025 Oregon Senate Bill 83 was passed unanimously to repeal the Oregon Wildfire maps. This week the Oregon House voted 50-1 to also repeal the Oregon Wildfire maps. The measures now go to the governors office for Tina Kotek’s signature.
So, what happens next? Before the Oregon House voted to repeal the Wildfire maps, they passed HB3940 which will provide funding for wildfire mitigation and fire suppression. Parts of the original Senate Bill 762 that are popular with home and land owners, cities and counties include funding to place remote cameras on mountaintops to spot and extinguish wildfires early and also directs Oregon state agencies to produce fire regulations that property owners can choose to follow or municipal governments can adopt and enforce locally.
Meanwhile work continues on the Ashland Community Wildfire Protection Plan before it it presented to the Ashland City Council this summer. The next Ashland “Better Prepared Wildfire Series” of meetings will take place Wednesday, July 16, 2025 titled “What’s Your Plan?”. This meeting is hosted by Ashland.news and will take place at 6 to 8 p.m. at The Historic Ashland Armory, 208 Oak St. If you missed some of the previous better prepared meetings, there are replay links on the better prepared website.