Oregon’s wildfire map is gone. The property risk is not.

Oregon just changed the wildfire-risk conversation for property owners.

The short version: SB 83 repealed the state wildfire hazard map and the associated state-level regulatory requirements for defensible space and home hardening. The Governor’s Wildfire Programs Advisory Council page says the repeal replaced those state-level requirements with statewide codes for local governments to consider adopting.

That does not mean wildfire risk disappeared from Oregon property decisions.

It means the practical question changed.

The old question was: What does the state map say about this property?

The better OPB question now is: What wildfire-risk facts would a buyer, lender, insurer, contractor, or local fire official still care about even without a statewide regulatory map?

For Oregon property owners and buyers, the repeal creates a dangerous blind spot: it is easy to hear “the map is gone” and assume the issue is gone.

But the sources point the other way.

The Oregon State Fire Marshal still tells property owners that “protecting your property starts with the first five feet,” and its defensible-space program still offers free assessments. The OSFM page still organizes preparation around the home, the 0–5 foot immediate zone, the 5–30 foot intermediate zone, and the 30–100+ foot extended zone.

The Oregon Department of Forestry still points homeowners to current fire restrictions, fire danger maps, Oregon wildfire readiness resources, Firewise landscaping, Community Wildfire Protection Plans, and fire-siting standards.

And Oregon’s wildfire-policy work did not stop with the repeal. The Governor’s WPAC page says SB 85 initiated a study of how community wildfire mitigation may affect insurance rating and underwriting for Oregonians who reduce risk to their homes.

So the practical move is not to ignore wildfire risk. It is to build a better property file.

Based on the Governor’s WPAC summary, SB 83 did three important things for property due diligence:

That last phrase matters. If local adoption becomes the next layer, wildfire due diligence becomes more local — not less important.

A rural buyer, listing agent, lender, or owner should now ask: what does this county, city, fire district, insurer, road/access condition, and defensible-space condition say about the property?

Here is the part I would not let a client skip.

OSFM’s defensible-space guidance emphasizes the area closest to the structure. It recommends keeping the immediate zone clear of combustible material, using noncombustible materials like river rock or gravel near the home, clearing decks and patios, and maintaining roof/gutter/vent protections.

That is not just “yard work.” It is property-risk information.

If you are buying, listing, lending on, or improving a home in a wildfire-exposed area, the condition of the first five feet can tell you whether the property has a maintenance problem, a retrofit need, or a buyer-negotiation issue.

OSFM’s defensible-space page includes access guidance such as driveway clearance, visible reflective addresses, and gate/access considerations for large fire apparatus.

For OPB readers, this belongs in the same mental bucket as septic, road access, or utilities: it is not glamorous, but it can affect whether a property is practical, safe, insurable, or expensive to improve.

The statewide map repeal does not tell you what a local government, fire district, or insurer will care about. It shifts the research burden.

If statewide codes are now “for consideration for local adoption,” the watch item becomes local: county code updates, city wildfire standards, fire-district guidance, Community Wildfire Protection Plans, and local development conditions.

The Governor’s WPAC page says SB 82 required insurers to provide disclosures about how wildfire risk-reduction efforts may affect insurance rating and availability, and that SB 85 initiated a study related to community wildfire mitigation, insurance rating, and underwriting.

That is the signal: wildfire mitigation still intersects with insurance, even if the regulatory map is gone.

Do not promise a discount. Do not assume a property is fine. But do collect the risk-reduction facts a buyer, owner, or insurer may ask about.

If you are evaluating an Oregon property after the map repeal, create a simple file with five sections.

Save the WPAC page or current state wildfire-program summary showing the SB 83 change. Note that the statewide map and associated state-level requirements were repealed, but statewide codes may still be considered locally.

Check the city/county code, planning department notices, fire district guidance, and Community Wildfire Protection Plan if one applies. The key question is not “is there a state map?” It is: what local standard or expectation applies here now?

Use OSFM’s defensible-space zones:

Document driveway clearance, gate width/function, address visibility, turnaround/access constraints, and nearby water/access conditions where relevant. If a property is remote or wooded, do not leave this to memory.

Before closing, renewing, or listing, ask:

Rural and edge-area buyers: do not treat the repeal as a green light. Treat it as a reason to document risk yourself.

Agents: use this as a client education moment. “No state map” does not mean “no wildfire question.”

Lenders and insurance-aware professionals: wildfire risk can still affect the transaction through underwriting, repair conditions, borrower costs, or buyer confidence.

Owners: the easiest improvements may be maintenance and documentation — clearing the immediate zone, roof/gutter cleanup, address visibility, and a free defensible-space assessment.

The next OPB watch item is local adoption.

If counties or cities begin considering defensible-space or home-hardening codes, the important property signal will move from a statewide map to local implementation. That is where buyers and professionals can get surprised.

For now, the safest sentence is this:

The statewide wildfire map may be gone, but Oregon property due diligence still needs a wildfire-risk file.

If you find value in these issues please consider signing up for the free weekly brief to stay informed.

Are you seeing wildfire insurance, defensible-space, or local fire-access questions show up in Oregon property deals? Reply with the county and the question you are hearing. I am building OPB’s local wildfire-risk watchlist.