Land use planning can protect us from wildfire.

In Central Oregon, wildfire is a natural ecological process that keeps our forests and grasslands healthy and resilient. Because we live in a fire-adapted landscape, we need a plan for people and wildfire to safely coexist.  

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. 

The likelihood of wildfire throughout Central Oregon makes rural and sprawling development incredibly dangerous. Land use planning that limits dispersed rural development and promotes infill development inside urban growth boundaries (UGBs) is one of the most effective tools we have to prevent loss from wildfire.

With global climate change causing warmer temperatures and more frequent drought conditions across Central Oregon, LandWatch remains committed to planning for wildfire-adapted communities.

Fire is a part of our history

Just as fire is a part of our past, we know it will be a part of our future in Central Oregon. From the Awbrey Hall Fire in 1990 to the Two Bulls Fire in 2014, most residents in the region have experienced wildfire over the past century.

Planning for a fire-adapted and protected Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) is our strongest approach to protecting our communities now and into the future.

What are LandWatch’s current initiatives to plan for wildfire protection?

What is the Wildland Urban Interface?

The Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) is an area where human development meets wildlands. These areas often surround urban centers, prone to wildfire, and are usually distanced from infrastructure. WUIs can be a draw for visitors and residents because of their natural beauty and opportunity for recreational activities.

When used effectively, the WUI provides a natural barrier for wildfire that protects urban areas. However, expanding development into the WUI can come at a high cost as communities as we have seen recent fires devastate small towns across the West.

Wildfire can spread quickly through developed areas, and buildings that are not properly prepared are effective fuel for fires. The rapid spread poses an immediate danger to those living in the WUI, as well as to emergency responders tasked with the protection of homes and structures.

Climate change has created a new set of problems for residents of this zone, both humans and wildlife.

Longer, drier summers and earlier snowmelt create conditions that make fire containment and the protection of property very difficult.  Wildfire frequency and intensity are increasing. At the same time, the number of homes being built in the Wildland Urban Interface is also growing.

That combination can be dangerous and, as we have seen in past wildfire seasons, can often turn deadly.

Where we grow matters

As development pressures grow in high-risk areas, we must consider every new development in the WUI carefully. Smart planning that takes wildfire risk into account will help avoid unnecessary loss of life and homes, risk to our health, and endangerment of firefighters. 

Oregon's land use planning laws concentrate growth within urban growth boundaries and protect rural lands for agriculture and forestry. These growth patterns are consistent with what fire risk experts now recommend as the best approach for creating fire-adapted communities. 

In a recent study, fire risk experts demonstrated the advantages of compact urban development for protecting homes against wildfire. The researchers compared predicted fire risks for homes located in infill, rural low density, or leapfrog development patterns. They found that lower housing density and small, isolated clusters of development on rural lands are predicted to result in the highest fire risk to homes, while infill development is predicted to have the lowest fire risk.[1]

LandWatch advocates for Central Oregon governments to support fire-adapted communities through the proper implementation of Oregon's land use laws that concentrate development within urban growth boundaries. When houses are built outside urban growth boundaries on farmland and forestland, our cities and towns lose an essential wildfire buffer. 

[1] A.D. Syphard, Massada A. Bar, V. Butsic, J.E. Keeley. "Land Use Planning and Wildfire: Development Policies Influence Future Probability of Housing Loss." PLoS ONE 8(8): e71708. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071708, 2013.

Central Oregon communities are familiar with wildfire

Central Oregon residents may remember the 1990 Awbrey Hall fire, which ripped through the forested areas west of Bend and burned 16 houses in just three hours. The fire started in early August on a ridge in Shevlin Park, crossed major roads and the Deschutes River to quickly travel 6 miles, and destroy a total of 22 homes in its wake.

More recently, the Two Bulls Fire burned 6,908 acres west of Bend, threatening 254 homes and evacuating 635 people on the west side of Bend in 2014. It came within three miles of the city before favorable winds prevented catastrophic destruction.

The Westside Transect

For more than a decade, LandWatch has successfully prevented high-risk sprawl on hundreds of acres of private land in Bend’s WUI. 

In 2009, the City of Bend proposed expanding urban development by over 8,400 acres. Much of the land between Tumalo Creek and Skyline Ranch Road could have been developed, adding an estimated five thousand new homes in the area. The risk in developing a tinderbox for wildfire to spread from the forest to the city was too great.

Central Oregon LandWatch was the lead appellant against that proposal because of our concerns about loss of wildlife habitat, wildfire risk, and the lack of analysis for how to use existing city lands more efficiently. The State of Oregon remanded that proposal, and the City’s successful 2016 UGB process had a much more robust public process.

That new public process opened up the opportunity for Central Oregon LandWatch to work with developers and landowners, which resulted in the Westside Transect (and a Conversation of the Year award).

This approach of creating the Westside Transect meant more development would be located closer to the core of the city where services and infrastructure were already available, and less development would sprawl outward into high-risk fire areas like the Deschutes National Forest.

While extreme weather-driven fire will continue to threaten the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), the Westside Transect will help save lives and homes. Reduced density means there will be fewer people to evacuate in the event of a fire. More space between homes, firewise building codes, and landscaping requirements will reduce the risk of rapidly spreading wildfire.

Smart growth avoids fire-prone forestland

By promoting smart growth and infill development in the core urban areas, Central Oregon’s cities and towns can sustainably accommodate new residents and coexist with wildfire.

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 Central Oregonians from the damaging effects of wildfire.