Oregon Property Owners Face Looming Deadline to Appeal Wildfire Hazard Map Designations

Following Oregon Governor Kotek’s announcement last week instructing Forestry officials to hold off on referring any wildfire hazard map designation appeals to the Office of Administrative Hearings until after the legislative session, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) clarified that the deadline for appeals remains March 10, but the appeal will only be dealt with later in the year.

ODF Wildfire Hazard Map Designation Appeal Processes

ODF confirmed in a news release that people who own property in Oregon should still file their notices indicating their intent to appeal wildfire map designations made by recently released wildfire hazard maps.

While an entire case does not need to be developed to file the appeal form, the appeal forms reflecting the required information must be received by March 10 to reserve a place in line for future appeal hearings.

Notifications were mailed to owners of properties within the wildland-urban interface that are now designated as high hazard after updated wildfire hazard maps were issued on January 7. The notification initiated a 60-day period to file the intent to appeal.

Kotek’s announcement last week indicated that appeals will stand down until after the current legislative session, allowing the Legislature to deliberate potential changes to the wildfire hazard map policy.

If there are no legislative changes to the laws governing the wildfire hazard maps this legislative session, ODF will pick up the appeals process after the session concludes at the end of June.

Oregon property owners who want to appeal their wildfire hazard designation must file their form by March 10 to preserve their right to appeal.

Requirements To File A Wildfire Hazard Designation Appeal

Oregon wildfire hazard and wildland-urban interface maps are available on Oregon State University’s Wildfire Risk Explorer website.

The map aims to educate residents and property owners about the hazard level where they live, help prioritize fire adaptation and mitigation resources to the most vulnerable locations, and identify where defensible space standards and home hardening codes will apply.

No research or preparation needs to happen before filing an appeal form. To appeal their designation, Oregon property owners must:

• File the appeal form with ODF online by 5 p.m. March 10 or by mail postmarked on or before March 10.
• Fill in the information about the tax lot designation to be appealed, including the property owner’s name, mailing address, property address, or tax lot number.
• Check one or both boxes to indicate whether the appeal is against a specific hazard zone designation or the wildland-urban interface.
• Write “further information will be provided” in the section asking for more information.
• Suppose a trust or LLC owns the property. In that case, an attorney must represent the owner during the Administrative Hearings. However, it’s unnecessary to consult one before lodging your appeal form.