HURRICANE CREEK GRANGE, Ore. — Wallowa County is fast becoming wise to mitigating the risk of wildfires, as was seen and discussed June 15 at the Hurricane Creek Grange.

About 40 members of four different Firewise communities in the county attended the second annual Firewise Roundup, a potluck luncheon and discussion of what their communities are doing to prevent catastrophic wildfires.

The Lostine Canyon Firewise Community was the first in Northeast Oregon, establishing itself in 2019 with Michael Eng as its coordinator. About a year ago, Eng decided to step down and Ron Polk, along with Gary Willis, replaced him. They have been joined by Jeremiah Marsh who brought along years of firefighting experience with the U.S. Forest Service.

At Saturday’s event, representatives of each of the Firewise communities gave updates on what their communities are doing or have done to mitigate the risk of wildfire.

Firewise is a national program, led by the National Fire Protection Association, which offers a structured approach for communities to enhance their wildfire resilience. The program promotes collaborative efforts among residents, local fire departments, and other stakeholders to bolster the fire resistance of homes and surroundings.

Polk noted that Lostine Canyon is notable for the steep, heavily wooded hills that rise up from the Lostine River, along which a number of homes are built. Like many Firewise communities, there is only a single road in and out, making it difficult for firefighters to respond when fire threatens. That makes it important not just to make houses more resilient to wildfire but to make sure evacuation and communication plans are frequently updated.

Mike Mercer, of the Upper Hurricane Creek Firewise Community, explained a bit of the Firewise concept.

“It’s not so much about people coming in to save us as sticking together to act responsibly,” he said.

While the wooded terrain in most Firewise communities is considered beautiful and makes the area desirable for a home, it’s also a danger when it comes to wildfire. Polk said the Lostine community is now working to secure a grant to pay for thinning in the area and they’ll meet in July to discuss constructing a firebreak.

After the Lostine community was established, the Oregon Department of Forestry approached homeowners in the Upper Hurricane Creek area to talk about defensible space around their homes. The concept is to eliminate potential fuels that could set a home alight, such as brush, small trees and trees that could carry a canopy fire.

Judy Allen of the West Moraine Firewise Community along Old Ski Run Road outside Joseph said that community was established in the fall of 2022. At that time, the community had about 60% of the area’s residents engaged. Now it’s up to about 95% of the 37 homes, she said.

She said they’ve been working on tree trimming, hazard training and improving signage. As for labor, they’re working on recruiting high school kids through the nonprofit Wallowa Resources.

Janet Groat of the South Wallowa Lake Firewise Community said that during peak tourist season the community has 2,000-3,000 residents.

“Thankfully, we have the Wallowa Lake Rural Fire Protection District,” she said.

They do want more signs directing evacuation routes and first-responders.

“Those are important because we have a lot of vacation rentals,” she said.

She also expressed concerns that various agencies have different “no-burn” dates and seasons and hopes they could better synchronize those dates.

Experts speak

As part of the Firewise Roundup, Jenny Reinhardt, Wallowa County’s Firewise coordinator, introduced a panel of experts.

The experts included Tracy Brostrom, of the Oregon Department of Forestry; Horace Ward, a senior emergency management specialist with Pacific Power’s Fire Mitigation Program; and Chris Paul, of the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Paul explained the Incident Command System used to battle wildfires and other emergency situations provides a standardized, on-scene, all-hazard incident-management concept. It allows its users to adopt an integrated organizational structure, has considerable internal flexibility, is a proven system to manage emergencies.

Paul said Firewise communities can help by funneling information to the Incident Command System. Landowners and others familiar with unique features of the land where a wildfire is burning can inform officials about the obstacles they may face in fighting the blaze.

Paul also discussed use of a wood chipper that can be loaned out to homeowners to eliminate dead wood that could become wildfire fuel.

“I’m here to talk about the ‘infamous chipper’ that we were able to purchase with a $110,000 grant along with a boat trailer to haul it on,” he said.

He noted that use of the chipper can be dangerous, so it comes with an equipment-use agreement and a waiver and release of liability. He said it’s usually used in areas where piles of wood have accumulated and that loading into a chipper can’t be done by just a few folks.

“You need the entire community working on it,” Brostrom said.

Ward, of Pacific Power, said the company helps with preparedness, outage plans, evacuation plans, emergency kit planning and plans for children and animals.

One audience member asked about power lines she’s seen that are attached to trees instead of poles dedicated to electrical power. Ward said Pacific Power is working to eliminate such old-fashioned use of trees as part of its efforts to update its infrastructure.

Insurance

Nate Conklin, a State Farm Insurance agent from La Grande, said he doesn’t have the final say on whether a home can be insured, but he is aware of what the company will accept and the kind of losses the company — or any insurance company — can afford.

“If one home burns, it takes approximately 725 home insurance premiums to pay for that,” he said.

Politics is an issue as well. In California, he said, politicians repeatedly refused to allow rate increases, forcing some companies out of the market in that state.

“When you see a company exit the market it’s because it wasn’t allowed to raise rates enough to cover claims,” he said.

Oregon, he said, hasn’t seen such difficulties and likely won’t, “as long as we have sensible state leadership.”

He said the industry usually looks at a property that files two claims in five years as “high risk” and most companies won’t insure high-risk properties or will only do so with high rates.

He told the Firewise members that their work is helping to reduce the risk: “From my company’s perspective, Lostine is not considered high risk,” he said.

He said he didn’t know for certain why that’s the case, but he had a hunch: “My guess is it’s the efforts by the Firewise community.”