Klamath County urged to accept $415,000 fuels-mitigation grant; discussion centers on liability, procurement and distribution

Klamath County emergency management staff and representatives of local fire districts urged the Board of Commissioners on April 8 to accept a $415,000 grant from the Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to buy fuels-mitigation equipment—primarily chippers and curtain burners—to distribute across the county.

Ian Thabein, the county emergency manager, said the grant originally was written by his predecessor and raised liability concerns because the draft scope could have compelled emergency management staff to use the equipment on private property. Thabein said staff sought a solution that preserves the grant’s intent—countywide fuels mitigation—without exposing county emergency-management personnel to liability for operating equipment on private property.

Leslie Cook, who presented the OSFM work plan on behalf of Chiloquin and said the plan has been accepted verbally by OSFM staff, said the state is ready to provide $415,000 to Klamath County to procure equipment, which could be staged in a county lot until the end of the grant and then distributed to fire districts. Cook said Chiloquin is stepping back from administering the IGA and will not take the administrative fee; the county would keep any administrative fee if it remains in the IGA structure.

Fire chiefs and the fire-defense board representatives said the equipment is urgently needed. David Blair, fire chief at Keno Rural Fire Protection District and vice president of the Klamath County Fire Defense Board, said districts can use strategically placed equipment and crews to complete many mitigation sites during the season; he called the equipment “paramount” to implementing mitigation plans. Mike Cook, with Gilligan Fire and Rescue, and other volunteer districts expressed readiness to house and use equipment.

Risk and contracting staff (Lehi Bartle Hunter) and insurance staff raised procurement and insurance issues. County representatives said the county’s current insurance deductible is $10,000; some equipment items—trucks and larger burners—exceed that threshold and would be schedule-covered, while smaller items could fall below the deductible and not be listed on the county equipment schedule. At least three chippers were budgeted at about $30,000 each and two curtain burners at roughly $90,000 each in the itemized plan; the full equipment list includes trailers, warranties and spare parts. Leslie Cook said most items (except hand tools such as chainsaws and pull saws) exceed $10,000.

Participants discussed two practical options: (1) proceed with procurement and store equipment in a county lot for distribution at the grant’s end, or (2) accept the work plan and have a local fire district (or the fire-defense board) manage dissemination and rental/usage paperwork. Chiloquin volunteers had planned to perform administrative oversight and distribution, but Chiloquin is stepping back and will provide procurement documents and operational templates so another entity (county staff or the fire-defense board) can take over.

Several attendees said the OSFM grant was ready to proceed and that procurement delays were the principal obstacle. Staff estimated that if ordered immediately, equipment might arrive in about a month, but not necessarily soon enough to complete a full season’s mitigation if administrative steps take longer. Commissioners directed staff to proceed with the necessary procurement steps and to coordinate storage, insurance and distribution details so the equipment can be used by districts as soon as feasible.