Revised wildfire map to drop on Sisters Country

Along with the rest of the state, Sisters will soon see the release of the Oregon Statewide Wildfire Hazard Map risk map (Click here to see related story.).

A key takeaway is the change in name from “risk” to “hazard” map. The semantics are subtle, but significant. Risk implies impacts on insurance, whereas hazard suggests something more temporary that can be mitigated.

Ben Duda heads up the Sisters Sub-Unit Office of ODF (Oregon Department of Forestry). He is also a volunteer firefighter with Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire District. He is well-versed on the complexities of fighting fires in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).

The Nugget asked him how the new map differed from the map that was published, then withdrawn, in 2022.

“First off, it’s not yet published, so nobody can say with any certainty. From what information is available, it should be a better tool,” he said.

In terms of agriculture, —focus of ire with the first iteration — properties irrigating, such as hay and orchard grass farmers, will be categorized more accurately.

Duda does not anticipate heavy-handed enforcement despite the consequences of wildfire.

“This will be a massive educational effort — not a big hammer — with hopefully adequate funding to teach property owners how to assess a hazard and the way to eliminate them,” he said.

Duda recognizes that a big portion of the problem is the sheer population growth in Central Oregon.

“We have so many new residents, including in agriculture, who moved from urban areas or different climates where wildfire was not a threat,” he said. “It’s new to them.”

Fire (property) insurance has been more expensive and harder to obtain in Sisters Country partly as a result of catastrophic losses by carriers like State Farm and Allstate who have pulled out of California markets altogether.

Rory Wold, a State Farm agent, assured his policy holders that they are still active in Oregon.

“It’s not like California where the losses overwhelmed the system,” he said. “In Oregon, like any state, we have a cap on what share of the market we want to insure. We have reached that cap in several Oregon counties.”

As more companies exit the market, those remaining are undertaking a bigger share of the risk.

Wold says that Oregon could issue a new map every week and it won’t impact large carriers like State Farm who employ their own risk maps and assessment tools.

“There is no one source for assessing risk,” he said.