Lane County emergency manager briefs commissioners: 2025 wildfire season recap and winter-weather preparations

Lane County Emergency Manager Tiffany Brown told the Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 4 that the 2025 wildfire season burned roughly 33,000 acres, driven primarily by three incidents, and that county agencies are now shifting attention to winter-weather preparedness.

Brown summarized the season timeline and key incidents: the largest acreage came from the "Immigrant" fire, followed later in the season by Foley Ridge (Mackenzie area) and Sugar Loaf (about 53 acres), which came closest to a community. Brown said local fire agencies and quick detection helped limit structure loss and large-scale evacuations; short-lived Level 3 evacuation notices occurred but shelters did not need to be stood up.

On operations, Brown reported that the county implemented Genesis, a new evacuation-management tool linked to the county alerting system, and used it this season after redrawing evacuation zones countywide. She said weekly cooperator emails replaced earlier, more frequent calls and that the county is updating its Community Wildfire Protection Plan for presentation in 2026.

For winter weather, Brown said forecasts show La Niña conditions with above-average precipitation and warmer temperatures, increasing the likelihood of atmospheric‑river events this fall and early winter. County preparations include mass-care planning with Human Services and partners such as St. Vincent de Paul, exercises and staffing training for the emergency operations center, monitoring of drawdowns and dams, and a planned countywide debris-management contract that jurisdictions can piggyback on.

Brown highlighted public preparedness work: the county distributed roughly 13,000 "help/OK" signs across 45 partner locations (libraries, post offices and public counters) and conducted outreach events and trainings. She urged that staff and volunteers maintain personal preparedness so they can respond when activated.

Commissioners praised the regular weekly summary emails to cooperators, asked about shelter-bed shortfalls and mass‑care implications if prolonged cold or ice events occur, and sought clarity on how county and nonprofit partners plan to address a shrinking shelter capacity. Brown said county staff are coordinating with the Severe Weather Collaborative and Human Services and that loss of beds and staff at partner organizations is a significant operational risk in a prolonged winter emergency.

Work items identified: continued training for Genesis and dispatch centers, completion of the revised Community Wildfire Protection Plan for 2026, issuance of an RFP for countywide debris-management, and continued coordination with nonprofits and faith partners on severe-weather sheltering.