Lane County Seeks Public Input to Update Wildfire Plan

Lane County Emergency Management began soliciting public input on Jan. 7 as part of an effort to update the county’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which was last revised in 2020. Residents are invited to complete a short survey, offered in both English and Spanish, that asks about the risk-reduction steps they already take and the barriers that prevent further action. The survey will remain open through Jan. 30.

The update is a collaborative effort with the Oregon Department of Forestry and additional partner agencies to refine community-specific goals and actions for wildfire preparedness and mitigation. Officials said the survey responses will inform where to direct education campaigns, outreach, and hazard-mitigation programs so that limited resources address the highest local priorities.

For Lane County residents, the survey offers a direct way to influence practical decisions about defensible-space programs, evacuation planning, and community outreach. Responses about barriers such as cost, access to materials, or information gaps will help agencies design assistance that reaches households across the urban-wildland interface, including Spanish-speaking communities reached by the bilingual format. That local focus reflects broader trends: wildfire is a transboundary hazard that increasingly requires coordinated planning across jurisdictions and attention to vulnerable populations.

Updating the Community Wildfire Protection Plan also affects funding and prioritization. Community-specific goals that emerge from public input can shape which areas receive fuels reduction, home-hardening assistance, or targeted education. For homeowners and renters, the revision process could influence availability of community-level mitigation projects, workshops, and outreach schedules over the coming years.

Residents who participate will be contributing to a plan that guides the county’s wildfire reduction strategy and its coordination with state partners. The short timeline for the survey means that input submitted before Jan. 30 will have the most immediate influence on draft recommendations and next steps.

Lane County Emergency Management and its partners are framing the update as an opportunity to align mitigation actions with the realities residents face on the ground. By collecting local perspectives now, county and state agencies aim to build more equitable, effective programs that reduce wildfire risk and strengthen community resilience.