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Oregon Living With Fire tells Klamath County it can operate a year without federal reimbursements; asks county to consider expanding boundary
Summary
At a Klamath County commission meeting, coordinators from Oregon Living With Fire reported frozen federal reimbursements but said local reserves allow operations for a year, described outreach and fuels-reduction work in northern Klamath County, and asked the county to consider expanding the program boundary.
Jody Barham, co‑coordinator of Oregon Living With Fire, told the Klamath County Board of Commissioners that federal grant reimbursements remain frozen but the organization has sufficient reserves to continue operating for a year.
Barham said Oregon Living With Fire leverages Klamath County funding to support local projects and to provide match for two federal grants that are currently frozen. "We can operate for a full year without any federal funding and be just fine," Barham said. She credited local fiscal planning and named Joe Stuttler for forethought that helped build reserves.
The group’s co‑coordinator, Dr. Jen Fenton, described ongoing grant work and proposals that extend beyond Klamath County’s northern edge. Fenton said she is finalizing a BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities) application for projects to protect museum collections in Deschutes and Jefferson counties; that proposal is a roughly $6.3 million ask with a roughly 10 percent local match. She also described two applications to the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program to support local “sweat‑equity” projects and staffing that have lost other funding sources.
Barham summarized Oregon Living With Fire’s 2024 annual report, describing the group’s role as a local representative of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy for the Western Region and noting collaboration with the Walker Range Protection Association, Deschutes Collaborative Forest, Project Ochoco, and the Central Oregon Fire Prevention Cooperative. She said the program covers a portion of northern Klamath County and a bit of Lake County where Deschutes National Forest dips into the county.
Commissioners asked about the county’s contribution; Barham said Klamath County provides "just under $7,000," which she identified specifically as $6,450 and said those funds come from Title 2. Barham and Fenton said those county funds help support local outreach (preparedness fairs, Firewise sites) and serve as match for federal proposals. Barham noted two of the county’s three Firewise sites are in the northern part of the county and said Oregon Living With Fire would like to revisit its program boundary to cover more of Klamath County.
Barham and Fenton described planned 2025 activities: continued fuels‑treatment awareness, public tours to show treated versus untreated areas, wildfire preparedness fairs, home‑assessment training, and efforts to connect vulnerable property owners with funding for mitigation work. They also said some federal activities (including a planned live prescribed‑fire tour) will be reduced this year because of federal funding pullbacks.
Commissioners thanked the presenters and said the county would remain available for questions; Barham offered business cards and contact information for follow up.
(Ending) Oregon Living With Fire asked the county to consider whether the program’s geographic boundary should be adjusted so it can bring more grant funds and programming into northern Klamath County. Coordinators said they will continue outreach while they wait for federal reimbursements to resume.
