When wildfires burned through Oregon last fall, many people didn’t receive a local emergency alert or evacuation message, which left them scrambling to evacuate safely. State officials have since approved a new emergency alert system meant to fix that.
The system, called OR-Alert, would operate statewide, rather than in individual counties, ideally improving communication in the event of a disaster.
People have to opt-in to most local emergency alert systems currently. But this one would allow notifications to be sent out to devices automatically, including social media, text message and landline calls.
The system is expected to be available to all counties in the state and should be up and running by this summer.
Lane County ALERT ME! Sign up to receive emergency alerts and severe weather warnings that could directly impact you and your family.
Lane County eAlert website for fires, earthquakes, and other emergencies: https://public.alertsense.com/SignUp/?regionid=1087
Lane County Community Wildfire Protection Plan
The Lane County Community Wildfire Protection Plan is a comprehensive wildfire education and mitigation plan for the whole of Lane County. The 165 page plan was originally developed in 2005 but has been updated, most recently in 2019-2020. It includes extensive maps and analysis showing wildfire risk by region within the county and outlines 24 action items to help mitigate wildfire risk. It was developed in coordination with Oregon Department of Forestry, Lane County Emergency Management, Lane County Land Management Division, Lane County Fire Defense Board, Oregon State University Extension Service, Oregon State Fire Marshal, U.S. department of the Interior, and U.S. Forest Service. The information on wildfire risk and mitigation is for all of Lane County, urban as well as rural, but at present mitigation efforts are concentrated in the urban wildland interface and rural forested areas.
A PDF version of the LCCWPP is available here
An Ember Awareness Checklist Poster: The poster informs landowners of where embers often pose serious risk during wildfire events. The checklist provides actions homeowners can take to reduce this risk. To view and download a high resolution PDF version visit here.
Survivable Space Poster: This poster was made for Lane County and details survivable space guidance on how to harden your home prior to wildfire season as well as evacuation levels used to notify landowners of impending incidents. This poster is on page 140 of the LCCWPP plan.
The LCCWPP is one more tool residents should be aware of as we move into wildfire season. It is extensive and well researched. The detailed table of contents makes finding information easy.
SHiNA 