Those who own property in Oregon may still file their intent to appeal designations made by recently released wildfire hazard maps.
The Oregon Department of Forestry said appeal forms must be received by March 10th to reserve a place in line for future appeal hearings. A full case does not need to be developed to file the appeal form.
Updated maps were issued January 7th and notifications were mailed to owners of properties designated as "high hazard" and within the wildland-urban interface. The updated maps and mailing initiated a 60-day period to file an intent to appeal.
Governor Tina Kotek announced last week that state forestry officials are to hold on referring any appeals to the Office of Administrative Hearings until after the current legislative session. This will allow the Legislature to deliberate potential changes to wildfire hazard map policy.
If there is no change in law this session, ODF will resume the appeals process after the session concludes at the end of June. Those who wish to appeal must file their form by March 10th to preserve their ability to appeal the designations.
If your property is in a trust or LLC, you must be represented by an attorney during a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings, but you do not need to consult with an attorney prior to filing your appeal form with ODF.
The statewide wildfire hazard and wildland-urban interface maps are available on Oregon State University's Wildfire Risk Explorer website.
