Oregon again delays release of controversial wildfire risk map as Legislature considers issue
Oregon will delay release of a controversial wildfire risk map for the second time as the state Legislature takes up the issue.
A number of bills have been introduced this session that could impact how the map, meant to classify wildfire danger statewide, comes together, leading the Oregon Department of Forestry to postpone release.
“We want to avoid expending resources on work that may not align with new direction that may come from the Legislature this session,” said Cal Mukumoto, director of the Oregon Department of Forestry.
The original map was released last June after passage of Senate Bill 762, which came in the wake of the 2020 Labor Day fires that burned over 1 million acres and destroyed regions of the state seemingly unprepared for the scale of the calamity.