Oregon APA Steps Up to Help with 2020 Wildfire Response

by Brian Campbell, FAICP

Last September during a highly unusual and dramatic series of weather events, Oregon experienced the worst wildfire season in its history, with more than 1,000,000 acres burned.  While other major fires in the past largely affected less populated areas, the wildfires last year had a devastating impact on a number of Oregon’s small cities and rural communities, with thousands of homes and dozens of businesses destroyed and 11 people killed.  After the fires were largely extinguished, the usual cleanup and support efforts by FEMA, state and local governments, and non-profit agencies got underway to help those communities take care of their immediate needs.

However, as relief efforts rolled out it became apparent that there was a need for longer term planning for those heavily impacted communities.  Led by Erin Reome, AICP, Oregon APA’s (OAPA) Education and Outreach Committee formed a task force of volunteers dedicated to assisting in recovery planning efforts.  The task force quickly established connections across the state and with individuals in fire-affected areas of California and Colorado to determine what planning work would be needed to help Oregon’s hard hit communities.  Working in close coordination with FEMA, state and local jurisdictions, and other non-profits, the task force assessed each community’s needs and developed a roster of volunteer planners through OAPA’s Community Assistance Planning Program (CAPP) who would be able to address the planning needs of those communities.

Photo courtesy Oregon Department of Transportation

The weather condition that made the fire season so explosive was not just the heat but the direction and intensity of the wind.  The northwesters that normally prevail at that time of year unexpectedly turned around and blew strong and hot from the east.  That combined with a flurry of lightning strikes and some unfortunately located human-caused fires exploded into fast moving infernos in several places all at once.  The most extensive fire started near Mt. Jefferson in the Central Cascades and quickly spread on the strong east winds down the Santiam River canyon and adjacent forested areas, consuming most of the towns of Detroit, Gates, Lyons, Mill City and other smaller communities.  It even reached well into the Willamette Valley, threatening cities east of Salem and even southeast of Portland.  Just south of that fire event, another fire quickly spread down the McKenzie River destroying several small towns along that scenic waterway.

Oregon State Police approach truck drivers who abandoned their vehicles due to fire, reduced visibility, and traffic gridlock on Sept. 8 during the Almeda Fire. (Photo courtesy Oregon Department of Transportation)

But the biggest human impact was probably felt in southern Oregon.  The Almeda Fire started in north Ashland and in a matter of a few hours blew straight up the Bear Creek/Highway 99 corridor, wiping out half of the cities of Talent and Phoenix, including a number of mobile home parks, before being contained in south Medford.  That relatively small fire alone killed 3 people and destroyed about 2500 homes and over 150 businesses.  

MODIS Active Fire Detections for CONUS (2020), Geospatial Technology and Applications Center, U.S. Forest Service

In looking at each of these areas, OAPA’s task force was able to develop work programs for the Santiam Canyon and Almeda fires with the relevant jurisdictions, and is now working with the small communities along the McKenzie River to determine how best to meet their needs.  In all three areas, it is clear that planning for recovery and rebuilding in a more resilient way is going to be a long-term proposition.  The work scopes for the Santiam and Almeda areas has our planners working directly with the cities, counties, state and federal agencies, and non-profit organizations involved in each area to collect and review all the existing and available relevant information (plans, studies, policies, etc.), identify additional needed information, and then produce summary documents. These documents will identify strategic opportunities and potential projects and offer guidance on key topics of interest to the communities involved.  These documents will provide the first step to jump start the longer-term planning projects that are in the conceptual stages of development now to ensure that those processes can begin as soon as possible.

At this point, we have a Santiam team working with Mid-Willamette Council of Governments and Marion and Linn Counties, and an Almeda team working with the City of Talent, with the prospect of adding the City of Phoenix and Jackson County to that project soon.  In the Santiam area, the public agencies are working to take advantage of state emergency planning funds to be able to initiate planning projects in several small cities and unincorporated communities within the next six months, and our team is producing the information needed to initiate those projects.  In the Almeda area, the state had already begun preparations for a planning project with previously available funds.  That project, which was initially intended to just address urban design and transportation along the Highway 99 corridor, is being re-scoped and expanded to include the impacts and future planning needs of all of the fire-affected areas adjacent to the corridor.  The work of our team will provide the first phase of that project so that the consultant team hired for the planning project can hit the ground running.

CAPP Team at a workshop at a local high school in Willamina, Oregon in March 2017. Photo courtesy of the CAPP team.

In addition to these specific area projects OAPA has also committed to some longer-term initiatives.  Working with planners who have experienced similar events in other states over the last few years, we will collect and assimilate relevant documents related to disaster planning that can be used to educate planners about how to prepare for future events.  For instance, it’s clear that creating “trauma-informed planning” best practices will be important not just for the people who have experienced disasters directly, but for the planners who have to cope with all of those emotional experiences as well. 

This last year has provided everyone with some new and unusual experiences.  The Oregon wildfire season brought many Oregon planners unexpectedly close to dealing with the impacts of our increasingly hazardous world.  It was encouraging to see our planning community step up and help find ways to plan for dealing with future disasters and sharing our experiences with others.

About the Author

Brian Campbell's career has been remarkable for the consistent innovation, acceptance and implementation of planning ideas that have changed the way the Portland region views industrial, aviation, and waterfront planning issues. Brian retired with 44 years of planning experience with multiple entities, including the Umpqua Regional Council of Governments, Clackamas County, Port of Portland, City of Portland and as a volunteer with APA. He is currently the chair of the Education and Outreach Committee (EOC). Brian was inducted into the College of Fellows of AICP in 2006.

About the CAPP Program

The program is designed to bring planning resources and opportunities to communities that would otherwise not have access to these services or planning expertise, and to strengthen the ability of community members to influence or determine decisions that affect their quality of life. The CAPP seeks to foster community education and civic engagement.

The CAPP is a pro bono program, meaning that the program provides the time of planning experts to a community without compensation. However, the community may be asked to provide meeting space, refreshments, or other resources; limited funding from OAPA may also be available to help defray costs. The CAPP has expanded its services and opportunities to assist Oregon communities with long-term recovery and resilience planning for wildfire recovery. Recovery planning helps a community determine how, where, and what to rebuild after a disaster. The output is often very focused on projects and implementation. Resiliency planning looks ahead to what events and circumstances might impact a community and how best to prepare for those circumstances. In other words, it helps prepare a community to adapt and recover quickly from disruptions, like wildfire, earthquakes, etc., and helps to make that community more self-sufficient in the process. 

Learn more at oregon.planning.org/community/capp/