Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee

SUMMARY

The Board of County Commissioners appointed the Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee (WMAC) in September 2019 to undertake the following objectives:

Recommend an updated Wildfire Hazard Zone (WHZ) based on the Oregon Department of Forestry’s criteria in Oregon Administrative Rules 629-044-0200 (weather, slope, fuel hazard, fuel distribution);
Review and recommend whether and how to apply the Oregon Building Codes Division’s updated Wildfire Hazard Mitigation standards, i.e., ORSC - R327, in areas under Deschutes County’s building jurisdiction; and
Review and recommend whether and where to propose new land use regulations based on the University of Oregon’s Community Service Center audit of Deschutes County Code and best practices from other jurisdictions.

The WMAC made two recommendations pertaining to the WHZ and two recommendations in determining where R327 should apply:

Six (6) members recommended the WHZ continue to apply to the entire County; and
Five (5) members recommended the WHZ be updated based on a landscape approach informed by Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) sub-regions.
Six (6) members recommended R327 apply to the entire County and all existing and new lots, regardless of zone.
Five (5) members recommended utilizing the WHZ based on CWPP sub-regions to inform where R327 should be implemented. From there, the group recommended R327 apply to newly created lots and replacement dwellings in the Forest Use (F1 and F2) and Rural Residential (RR-10) zones.

A majority of the WMAC also recommended requiring throughout the County’s jurisdiction:

Defensible space, steep slope setbacks, and access standards for all new development;
Defensible space for all properties, vacant and developed;
Establishing a program that shares best practices of wildfire mitigation to the public.

Reference Documents

WMAC Final Report (See supporting documents below)
"Fighting Wildfires with Innovation" - Insurance Information Institute, November 2019
Headwater Economics - Housing Costs Spreadsheet for Wildfire Hardening
Housing Cost Impact Statement (BCD's Review of R327)
Aids to Determining Fuel Models For Estimating Fire Behavior
Summary of Wildfire Hazard Zones
Summary of ORSC - R-327.4
Oregon Residential Specialty Code - R-327.4
Deschutes County Natural Hazards Code and Program Review (Univ. of Oregon Audit)

For more information, please contact Peter Gutowsky at 541-385-1709 or peter.gutowsky@deschutes.org.