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Emergency management updates wildfire protection plan and natural hazard mitigation projects
Summary
Emergency management summarized Community Wildfire Protection Plan activity and Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan updates, including creation of Fire Adapted Benton County, local fuel‑reduction and access projects, FEMA flood map updates and county public‑works resilience projects.
Hannah Schafer, mitigation and recovery coordinator in Benton County Emergency Management, updated the board on the county’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) and Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (NHMP) on Feb. 18.
Fire planning and projects: Schafer said she was hired in late 2023 with grant support from the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s community wildfire risk reduction program. One grant element funded a fuels‑reduction pool and another funded her position to organize county wildfire resilience work. She described the new county coalition “Fire Adapted Benton County,” intended to coordinate defensible‑space outreach, grant opportunities and fuels‑reduction projects across the county.
Agency reports: Schafer reviewed CWPP project updates across the county’s planning regions: the sheep‑farm access connector (Ponderosa Ridge) was completed in 2024, Hoskins/Kings Valley Rural Fire Protection District completed a fire hall expansion in 2024, and the Oregon Department of Forestry is widening roads in the Soap Creek area. She said Corvallis has upgraded Fair Oaks access and is working on Skyline area access and water extensions.
Flood, landslide and infrastructure work: On the NHMP, Schafer said FEMA flood insurance rate map revisions for local watersheds are advancing; an Upper Willamette flood‑risk review meeting with FEMA was planned for Feb. 28 to review draft maps before public release. Benton County Public Works obtained a grant to assess evacuation vulnerability on South Fork Road (planned work expected in 2026) and has begun work on a Hayden Road bridge project with construction anticipated in 2026.
Ending: Commissioners asked for status on specific evacuation routes (Cardwell Hill), and public‑works staff said repairs are tentatively scheduled for spring or early summer and that alternative routes exist. Schafer said the county will continue biannual CWPP/NHMP updates and pursue funding for identified mitigation actions.
