Living alongside wildfire
How can we plan for a safer future in our fire-adapted landscape?
A previously burned landscape provides a healthy environment for wildflowers.
As Central Oregonians, we find our sense of place in the sagebrush steppe and ponderosa forests. In the late summer, these landscapes also bring great trepidation.
Since June, we have watched a fire season unfold alongside a cycle of record-breaking temperatures and a historic drought. There has been a ubiquitous feeling that the climate crisis no longer looms in the distant future but is here and now.
As we face a new climate reality, one thing is certain. Wildfire is here to stay.
Fire and Forest Ecology
Living in a fire-adapted ecosystem means our landscape thrives with fire. Ponderosa pines rely on low-severity surface fires rolling through forested landscapes with regularity. Wildlife needs fire to survive. For instance, black bears find reliable food in recently burned landscapes as downed trees are host to a wide variety of insects and grubs. These food sources are vital in a drought year that limits plant growth.
What is a fire-adapted ecosystem? An area or habitat where plants and wildlife have evolved to rely on fire to maintain a healthy and biodiverse environment. Often, fire occurs naturally with regular frequency in these areas.
In Central Oregon, wildfire is a natural ecological process that keeps our forests and grasslands healthy and resilient. But not all wildfires are the same. There is a stark difference between the historic fuels-driven fires that cycled through forested regions every decade, burning with low temperatures. Many of today’s wind-driven fires tend to burn much hotter and faster.
Photo: U.S. Forest Service
Oregon’s old-growth forests are fire-resilient ecosystems. For decades, trees have put on thick bark and grown deep roots meant to withstand fire. These old growth trees hold water in the soil and provide shade canopies that keep forests wetter and cooler.
At LandWatch, we know the importance of protecting our old-growth trees as a part of maintaining a fire-resilient ecosystem. That is why our Wildlands Program aims to keep big and old trees standing in our federal forests.
This year, we’ve been fighting a federal rollback of forest protections that could allow for the logging of our biggest and oldest trees.
Protecting Homes from Fire
Because we live in a region where fire is a part of the landscape, we need to plan for people and wildfire to coexist.
We have seen the risk and devastating loss fire can bring to our communities. The best way to protect our communities is through proactive planning for future growth. While land use planning won’t stop wildfire, it can help mitigate the destructive effects by preventing development of homes and businesses in high-risk areas. This is why LandWatch has spent more than a decade advocating for careful planning in the face of wildfire, especially in our region’s most high-risk areas. Our Rural Lands Program remains a watchdog for proposed development to prevent unnecessary sprawl onto our forests and agricultural lands.
As Central Oregon faces pressure to accommodate a growing population, where and how we grow matters. Our Cities and Towns Program focuses on growing in smart, sustainable ways that make our cities more vibrant and healthy - and prevent sprawling into our intact farmlands and wild places. Concentrating growth in our existing urban footprint is what fire experts recommend as the best approach for creating fire-adapted communities.
In Oregon, more and more homes are being built in fire-prone landscapes. If this pattern remains, our future with fire is a costly one that puts our families and first-responders at risk.
We have a better future in mind. LandWatch will continue to advocate for land use planning that limits dispersed rural development and promotes infill development inside urban growth boundaries (UGBs) to protect our community from the damaging effects of wildfire.
Help us create a fire-wise future.
Your support of Central Oregon LandWatch is critical in helping us plan for a future with wildfire. Looking 20 years down the road, what will our cities and towns look like? Help us bring a fire-safe vision to light.