Deschutes commissioners hear hours of public concern and expert explanation over state wildfire hazard map

Commissioners and a packed public room spent hours discussing the statewide wildfire hazard map produced under Senate Bill 762 (amended by later bills including SB 80), with residents urging the county to oppose portions of the map and staff and experts explaining what the map does and does not require.

The meeting opened with multiple speakers during citizen input and continued into an extended agenda item on the wildfire hazard map. Commissioner Chang said the county should focus on actions that reduce the risk of homes burning and cautioned against letting the map fight distract from fuels work: “trying to make the maps go away is a distraction from helping us protect Deschutes County homeowners, from losing their homes in the next wildfire,” he said.

County Forester Kevin Moriarty and Associate Planner Kyle Collins presented technical details of the map and the implementation path in state rulemaking. Moriarty stressed that the R3-27 “fire hardening” building standards that the state would apply to new development are already in common use and not brand-new, arguing they are…