May 1 signaled the start of Wildfire Awareness Month in Oregon, a time to prevent and prepare for wildfires while supporting those still recovering from previous events. This designated month helps us come together to plan so we know what to do before, during and after a wildfire and take actions to keep ourselves and our communities safe.

Oregon’s wildfire activity has steadily increased over the past decade, with more fires burning hotter, in areas that historically haven’t burned, and with fire season becoming a year-round event. At the same time, 11 Oregon counties – and more than half the land area in the state – are already under an emergency drought declaration. As we head into the summer months, forecasted water supply conditions and precipitation levels are not expected to improve.

For Wildfire Awareness Month, multiple state agencies have come together to share wildfire prevention and preparedness tips with Oregonians, covering topics including defensible space, safe debris burning and recreational campfires, avoiding vehicle fires, and evacuation preparations. Agencies and organizations including Governor Brown’s office, Oregon’s Department of Forestry, Office of State Fire Marshal, Department of Transportation, Keep Oregon Green, Pacific Northwest Wildfire Coordinating Group and our office will be sharing messages and tips throughout the month on social media channels; please consider amplifying and sharing these posts and tweets to help spread these messages far and wide.

Oregonians need to be aware of fire risk in their area and actively prepare themselves and their homes for wildfire risk reduction. This includes signing up for local emergency alerts at ORAlert.gov; enabling Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) on cell phones; having a family emergency plan; assembling a disaster supply kit; talking with neighbors; knowing the three-level evacuation notification system and having routes mapped out; creating defensible space and using fire-resistance landscaping around homes; regularly cleaning roof and gutters and inspecting chimneys; installing and testing smoke alarms; and fire hardening homes with fire-safe construction measures.

While we can’t eliminate every hazard, we can strengthen our infrastructure, proactively address existing vulnerabilities, and take actions – individually and in our communities – to reduce risk and prevent these hazards from becoming disasters. 

Take care of yourselves and take care of each other.
Andrew Phelps, Director, Oregon Office of Emergency Management

May 1-7 is Public Service Recognition Week, honoring all who serve our nation as federal, state, county, local and tribal government employees. Whether helping recover from disasters, keeping our communities safe, caring for the most vulnerable, educating our children, addressing economic inequities, navigating diplomatic crises around the world, preserving natural treasures or defending cyberspace, civil servants are on the front lines. Public servants provide the services we all depend on and we are grateful for the strength, talent and dedication they bring to the job. This week we thank our fellow public servants from all backgrounds for their contributions to public service.

May 2-6 is Air Quality Awareness Week, corresponding with the beginning of ozone season, wildfire season and World Asthma Day. Air quality awareness is more than just understanding the Air Quality Index forecast that utilizes the color code system, it also includes education about the air in a specific area and what associated health effects might be a concern for that community. Learn more about Oregon’s air quality at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Air Quality Division web page.

As part of Wildfire Awareness Month, the Office of State Fire Marshal will host a webinar every week throughout May focused on actions Oregonians can take to be prepared for wildfire. The first webinar will take place from 6-7 p.m. on May 3 and will cover financial preparedness and how to review home or renter’s insurance coverage, how to take a home inventory, and other ways to be financially prepared in the event of a wildfire or disaster. Register for this webinar through Eventbrite and click the links below to learn about future webinars.

• Home Ignition: How homes really ignite during a wildfire, 6-7 p.m. on May 12.
• Be Ready, Be Set, GO!: A look at evacuation preparedness, noon-1 p.m. on May 19.
• Fire Resistant Plants, noon-1 p.m. on May 24.

Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on May 7 encourages people to come together to take action to reduce wildfire risks. This year’s campaign is focused on what residents can do on and around their home to help protect against the threat of wildfires. The Wildfire Community Preparedness Day Toolkit provides a list of project ideas, safety tips and more. Download the toolkit on the National Fire Protection Association website.

May 8 is annual World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, a day to celebrate the principles, values, history and impact of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. This movement is a global humanitarian network of 80 million people that helps those facing disaster, conflict, and health and social problems. It consists of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the 192 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, including the American Red Cross. Wherever there is a crisis, there is a Red Cross or Red Crescent volunteer ready to support the people affected and ensure they recover quickly and can live with greater resilience and dignity. This May 8, we gratefully acknowledge the millions of volunteers, members and staff who respond to disasters and other crises around the world.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon’s Natural Resources Conservation Service have teamed up to offer a free virtual training about slash management. Slash is forest debris or woody vegetation left after harvest on timberland. The training will cover alternatives to burning, federal cost shares and forest management planning, as well as other resources available for safely managing slash with an eye toward reducing potential impacts to air quality. Join the training from 9-11:15 a.m. on May 9. The training is aimed toward forestry and logging professionals, but open to anyone interested. Register at Brown Paper Tickets.

Pacific ADA Center offers webinars on a variety of subjects under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). At 11:30 a.m. on May 12, the organization will present a webinar to discuss the realities and challenges emergency managers face and how to acknowledge, address and incorporate these realities in approaches to increase accessibility and ADA compliance in emergency management. Learn more and register at the Pacific ADA website.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has awarded $1.3M in grant funding to 20 organizations and county and tribal governments across the state to work on projects related to smoke management. The 2022 Smoke Management Grants were made available as part of Senate Bill 762 (2021), which promotes wildfire preparedness by creating fire-adapted communities, developing safe and effective wildfire and smoke responses and increasing the resiliency of Oregon’s landscape. Grants support projects that create alternatives to outdoor burning of yard debris or slash, enhance tribes’ smoke preparedness, develop Community Response Plans and implement previously finalized CRP plans. Grant recipients are tribes, local municipalities, counties, forest collaboratives and private businesses. View the full list of grant recipients and project titles at DEQ’s website.

The Oregon Office of Emergency Management has developed a Regional Coordinator Program made up of two teams serving as dedicated points of contact to support local and tribal emergency managers through all areas of emergencies and disasters. These teams cover six different regions throughout the state, including the Cascades, Eastern, Northwest, Portland Metro, Southwest and the Willamette Valley.

The Regional Response and Preparedness (R&P) Coordination Team focuses on preparedness and response planning initiatives. It supports local and state emergency responses by collecting situational awareness, tracking resource needs and processing requests as disasters emerge and evolve. The R&P team also supports implementation of state training and exercise programs and assists with preparedness grant funding opportunities. To learn more, contact Response & Preparedness Program Manager Chris Sutton.

The Regional Mitigation and Recovery (MARS) Coordination Team participates in mitigation and recovery planning initiatives and program implementation. It supports damage assessment activities, tracks resource needs and manages requests for support. The MARS team works with partners on disaster grant funding opportunities and provides outreach and engagement to State Recovery Function agencies. Both teams serve as liaisons between local Emergency Operations Centers and the state Emergency Coordination Center. To learn more, contact Regional Mitigation & Recovery Program Manager Amanda Mathis.

The Oregon Health Authority offers a COVID Vaccine Communications Toolkit with guidance on communicating about COVID vaccines to rural communities along with downloadable social and digital media assets you can use and share directly. The toolkit is designed for community groups and public health agencies looking to communicate about COVID-19 vaccines. Download any of the graphics or content for use at Google Drive or find them organized by focus area in the "graphics for download" folder at the bottom of each page. You are welcome to add your own branding to the images or edit the post text to promote your website or events.