East Deschutes uncovered to fire

Published 5:00 am Sunday, April 14, 2013

Deschutes County has 175,000 acres and 300 homes unprotected from wildfire, according to retired County Forester and Project Wildfire Director Joe Stutler.

On Wednesday, Stutler and his successor, Ed Keith, met with Deschutes County commissioners to discuss where the unprotected lands are and outline options for suppressing fire there. No decision arose from the session other than to survey property owners in eastern Deschutes County for their stance on the need for and cost of fire protection.

“The law enforcement response is no different. What’s different is when they go to the unprotected areas, there aren’t going to be any firetrucks coming,” Stutler said. “It’s a risk not only for the public but for public safety responders.”

The town of Alfalfa is situated in the middle of a large unprotected area. “If we don’t do anything Alfalfa is going to burn down,” Stutler said. “It’s inevitable.”

Several thousand acres east of Sisters — in the Lower Bridges and Plainview areas — are also unprotected, but the majority of the unprotected lands lie in the sparsely populated east county. Much of the land there belongs to the Oregon Department of Forestry. Stutler said ranchers, farmers and other residents in the area have water tankers, pumps and radios to fight fires burning on their lands. The ODF has contracted with these residents to help with fire suppression, Stutler said.

“Granted, it’s wildland and not structure protection,” he said. “They can squirt water on a burning house, but that’s probably the best they’re going to do.”

Commissioner Tammy Baney said people who choose to build homes in areas without fire protection resources are aware no one will come if their property catches fire.

“It’s not illegal to build a home that has no fire protection; they just tell you ‘good luck,’” she said. “It isn’t new that some parts of our county have been unprotected for years.”

Residents of the unprotected areas pay no taxes for fire suppression and receive no protection. Although, historically, homeowners have known and accepted this, Stutler said the number of residents who don’t want fire protection is dwindling.

Additionally, Deschutes County could be found liable if any county employees are injured or killed while providing emergency response.

“With no organized wildland or structural response, (the) Sheriff’s Office, County Forester and other first responders are potentially taking undue risks while engaged in either evacuation, rescue, or, in some cases, actual wildland or structural firefighting without the necessary resources, training or mutual aid,” Stutler wrote in his report.

Options

Stutler and Keith presented and explained six options the commission could consider to either manage the risk of having unprotected land or solve the problem by providing coverage to the unprotected areas.

The commission has the option of taxing residents of those areas, without putting to a public vote, $250 per year per $100,000 value of their properties, for wildland and structure fire protection.

“There are probably political consequences of assessing a tax without a vote,” Stutler said. “There is also the option to raise the dollar amount of a tax, but that would require a vote.”

Baney said most homeowners would pay at least double that, as very few homes in those areas are worth less than $200,000.

“That’s no small amount to most of the people who live out there,” she said. “I think we should ask stakeholders first if they’re interested in having protection and willing to pay for it.”

Stutler outlined a few options for coverage were the county to provide fire protection. He suggested organization and formation of three or more fire districts near Alfalfa, Lower Bridges and Plainview based on public support in those areas. He also suggested forming a special taxing district of the unprotected lands, saying the revenue could be collected from private property owners to provide protection during a fire by existing fire departments. The responding department would then be reimbursed for their services from the cache of tax revenue.

“This is a potential big deal,” he said. “This would move us to a special district that would be Deschutes County-wide.”

Stutler said at this point in evaluating the problem, the most viable option is to utilize the “closest forces concept.”

“When a wildland or structural fire is reported in the unprotected land, an appropriate response will be initiated and the private citizen receiving the service will be billed,” he explained.

Baney said the chances of a homeowner reimbursing the county after a fire has been suppressed on his or her land is small.

“There’s also the risk of creating an expectation within the community,” said Erik Kropp, the deputy county administrator. “If we say we’ll provide protection to a certain dollar amount, but the needs exceed that cap, we’ll be expected to send more resources.”

Stutler said he plans to discuss further options with emergency responders so a more comprehensive plan can be drawn up. The commission also discussed holding a series of town hall meetings for residents of the unprotected areas to hear what solutions they believe are viable.

Marketplace