February 10, 2025 3:05 a.m.
State Representative Virgle Osborne has released information on wildfire mapping and has announced an upcoming town hall event.
A release from Osborne said in 2021, the Oregon State Legislature passed SB 762, a bill centered around improving and modernizing Oregon’s wildfire readiness. One product of the legislation is the wildfire mapping program. This did not come without controversy. There was -and still is – an outcry of concerns from Oregonians regarding insurance policies and costs. Osborne said the legislature addressed the former concern by passing SB 82 in 2023, which restricts insurance companies in Oregon from using the wildfire map to cancel or increase insurance policy rates. However, getting a finalized map has been a long process. The original map, unveiled in the summer of 2022, was met with fierce opposition by Oregonians and policy makers, leading to that map’s eventual recall.
Osborne said with a new map finalized, many residents still have questions and concerns. After the examination of all 1.9 million tax lots in Oregon, approximately 106,000 lots will now be subjected to the provisions of wildfire mapping including:
*The requirement of creating “defensible space” or
*Using fire-resistant building materials.
Osborne said under the revised map, “the overlays are still very flawed and use generic mapping that does not take into consideration current conditions on lands as it is today”.
Osborne said, “Many have communicated their concerns regarding property values and insurance concerns as well as other potential damage these maps raise with your properties”.
The release said Senator Daniel Bonham and Senator Noah Robinson have introduced SB 678 to repeal wildfire protection provisions adopted by SB 762. Osborne said the intention is to introduce legislation in the Oregon House to repeal or revise SB 762 as well.
A wildfire town hall meeting will be held in the Community Conference Hall of the Douglas County Fairgrounds on Saturday, February 15th from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Osborne will talk more about the issue on Inside Douglas County this Friday at 12:30 p.m. on News Radio 93-9 FM and 1240 KQEN.