Lostine Firewise® Community

In March 2017, Nils Christoffersen, Executive Director of Wallowa Resources, contacted Lostine Canyon resident, Mike Eng, to ask if neighbors might be interested in hearing about a new analysis of wildfire risk in the Lostine Canyon. Nils chaired the Committee that was updating Wallowa County’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) – which hadn’t been done since the first CWPP was completed in 2006. The availability of a considerable amount of new data since that first CWPP was written allowed for much more current and accurate assessments of wildfire risk. The simple stark news was not only that the wildfire risk in the Lostine Canyon area was “extreme”, due to high fuel loads, the steep topography, and an increased number of homes – but also that the Lostine Canyon was the #1 priority among the newly designated “Communities at Risk”, located in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) areas identified by Wallowa County.

The findings about Lostine Canyon from the draft updated CWPP were presented to the community in April 2017. A number of residents immediately grasped the sobering implications for the safety of their families, their homes, and their community. All the agency and organizational representatives attending this public meeting, who were also involved in updating the CWPP, pledged their support and assistance in helping the Lostine Canyon Community figure out how to address this distressing news that we lived in an “extreme” wildfire risk area. These partners included: the U.S. Forest Service, the Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon State University Extension, Wallowa County Emergency Services, the Lostine Fire Department, and Wallowa Resources.

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