 * “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
—Helen Keller
As I wrote last time, June 30 was a landmark date for SB 762, the huge wildfire bill that has been unfolding since its bipartisan passage in the 2021 session. That was the release date for the “Oregon Wildfire Risk Explorer” that OSU and the Department of Forestry have been creating for well over a year now. It provides a foundation for the entire wildfire program by assigning every property a risk classification.
You’ll find it here. You can bring your property’s classification up by entering your address in the field on the left half of the screen. If it’s high or extreme risk, as much of Senate District 3 is,
A closeup of Senate District 3 on the just-released wildfire risk map.
and you’re located in the WUI (Wildland Urban Interface), some of the rules for vegetation control and making homes more fire resistance might apply to you. Those rules are still being developed with a lot of public input; you can find out more here and here.
If you’re in the high or extreme risk zone, you’ll likely be notified by letter in the coming weeks, and that could cause some stress. New regulation on the exterior of your house, and the grounds surrounding it? I don’t know many people who would celebrate that. Here’s some context that might be helpful.
First it’s important to know that some of the loudest speculation about the pending regulations isn’t well-grounded in fact. No one will be required to clear all vegetation from around their homes. When it comes to healthy mature trees, the idea is not to remove them but to prune them back to reduce contact with buildings and upward transmission of ground fire. Home hardening requirements will be pretty straightforward; you can greatly reduce risk at low cost just by keeping gutters clean, screening vents to keep embers out of attic spaces and raking flammable material like bark chips away from exterior walls (good practices, as the Almeda Fire demonstrated, even for valley floor properties in lower risk zones). More than that will likely be required for new construction on extreme (and possibly high) risk properties, but the rapid development of new fire-wise materials have brought down additional costs significantly.
Let me share OSU’s guide for defensible space with you once again, here. It’s really helpful.
Second point: having property in the high and extreme risk zones can mean qualifying for grants to reduce that risk. Here's a video of the tour one valley resident gave me to explain what the program will mean to him.
Bob Carson explaining the work underway at his place
You can find out more about some of the financial assistance for this kind of work here and here. We’ll try to keep you current on opportunities for state grants going forward.
Then there are the concerns about homeowners insurance. Will this new map drive premiums up in high and extreme risk zones, or make coverage harder to get? The short answer: probably not. If you live in and around woodlands, odds are you’ve already seen rates rise because of the increase in wildfire claims; some have lost their coverage altogether. The big insurers started implementing these changes a while back, based on their own maps.
But the message here isn’t “no problem, don’t worry.” The impact of these annual megafires, just like hurricanes, floods and tornadoes in other parts of the country, is a major problem for more and more homeowners who need adequate and affordable insurance coverage. It’s a fact of our times, and not one government can wholly solve. But if you’re in danger of having your policy dropped, I want to be sure you know about an important state program called FAIR, which stands for Fair Access to Insurance Requirements. You can find out how it works here.
All this said, let’s be honest and clear about where we stand. The increasing heat and winds of coming summers and the bone-dry landscapes they produce make epic megafires a fact of Oregon life that won’t change anytime soon. While I’m proud of SB 762—the strategic integration of vital programs, and what it offers to people who need support—no legislation or government decree can make this hard reality go away. We can and will continue to invest in smart programs to prevent and suppress fires and help communities adapt. The solution, though, is in the hands of all of us who care about this state. It begins with full recognition that wildfire calls on all of us to live on our landscape with more awareness and care, and with more with more concern for our whole community.
Put another way: years to come will demand more of us than years past. We can get through this by fully accepting that we each have a role in protecting Oregon from this ferocious threat. We’re back yet again to the Helen Keller quote that gives this newsletter its name; you'll find it right under the banner at the top of this page.
 Speaking of doing what you can do…traditionally a lot of Southern Oregon has been protected by volunteer firefighters. They make an immense gift to their communities, but it’s become more than we can ask. So I’m especially proud that SB 762 is finally providing a portion of the support they need and deserve, here. It’s more obvious every year how critical these smaller departments are to our safety.
 One of the bigger issues coming to my Natural Resources Committee hasn’t affected the Rogue Valley, but it soon could. We’re talking about chickens.
If during the current inflation you’re wondering how you can still buy a whole roasted chicken at the deli counter for five or six bucks, part of the answer is CAFOs—concentrated animal feeding operations that can raise a million or more birds at a time. You may have heard of cattle CAFOs, and the ongoing struggle over their environmental impacts, especially on water quality and quantity. Global corporations like Perdue, Tyson and Foster Farms are applying the same economies of scale to poultry, and they may be eyeing Oregon for major expansion.
So far the flap is centered near Scio, a few miles southeast of Salem. A chicken CAFO there has neighbors and conservationists worried about water quality and quantity, air quality, and the degradation of first-class soils. After a June hearing in my Natural Resources Committee yielded very different versions of what’s going on, I decided to convene this work group to vet information and determine whether the legislature should take this up in next year’s session. At this early stage it looks like the industry giants might easily overwhelm Oregon’s poultry farmers if we don’t.
Jack Leishman recently took this Milky Way photo from a Greensprings Highway view area.. We’d still like to get one or two of your favorite local phots at sen.jeffgolden@oregonlegislature.gov"
That does it for now. State agencies may hold hearings in Medford later this month to hear citizen views on proposed wildfire rules before they’re finalized. I’ll let you know as soon as any dates and venues firm up. Take care and stay cool—
 Senator Jeff Golden, Oregon Senate District 3
The Oregon Water Resources Department is accepting grant applications for the Water Well Abandonment, Repair, and Replacement Fund to provide financial assistance to permanently abandon, repair or replace a water well used for household purposes. Priority will be given to low and moderate income households in areas recently impacted by drought or wildfire.
For more information and to apply, click here.
The program to reimburse landlords for rental losses because of the pandemic is here.
Future Ready Oregon is accepting grant applications here for organizational capacity to launch, expand, sustain, or support workforce programs in the health care, manufacturing and technology industry sectors.
Oregon State Fire Marshall Fire Safety Resources available here.
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