Oregon Summary

Below you will find county-by-county maps and tables that illustrate the data in this study.

Click on chart for a larger version below.

Our research found that:

• Of the 11 western states, Oregon has the largest area of undeveloped, forested private land bordering fire-prone public lands, and is ranked third in the amount of forested land where homes have already been built next to public lands.
• Oregon has nearly 6000 square miles of forested private land that borders public lands, of which 90 percent has not yet been developed.
• Housing in Oregon's wildland urban interface consumes 4.5 acres per person, compared to the 0.5 acres per person average on other private lands in the West.
• Oregon has 110,563 residences built near forested public lands, of which 15 percent are seasonal homes or cabins.
• Oregon ranks third among western states in the number of homes built in forested areas next to public lands, but ranks near the bottom (10th) in the percentage of those homes that are only seasonally occupied.

The area of southwestern Oregon that overlaps the Southern Cascade mountain range contains several of the most severely at-risk counties among western states, both in terms of existing risk of wildfire (number of square miles of the wildland urban interface with homes now), and potential future risk (number of square miles of wildland interface that remains undeveloped). Lane, Josephine and Jackson counties together have 76,167 people living in 33,843 homes, spread over 281 square miles of wildland urban interface. Lane and Jackson Counties also have large areas of currently undeveloped private land bordering wildlands where homes could be built in the future, putting lives and property in the path of wildfires.

Existing Risk Map - Click to Zoom
Yellow areas on the map illustrate existing development in fire-prone areas (forested areas adjacent public lands that have been developed); all other development is shown in red; public lands are shown in green.

Oregon Summary Statistics
West-Wide		3,290.0	20,350.1	14.0%	915,071	21.0%
Oregon		622.1	5,337.8	10.4%	110,563	15.0%
Top 10 Counties in Oregon Ranked by Existing Risk Counties are ranked by the number of square miles of developed land in the wildland interface
Josephine County	Oregon	119.1	185.7	39.0%	12,451	5.0%
Jackson County	Oregon	82.9	463.7	15.0%	7,647	5.0%
Lane County	Oregon	78.9	626.6	11.0%	13,704	7.0%
Clackamas County	Oregon	46.6	101.7	31.0%	8,033	12.0%
Douglas County	Oregon	40.5	964.4	4.0%	4,735	8.0%
Deschutes County	Oregon	36.0	62.4	37.0%	15,502	30.0%
Lincoln County	Oregon	35.6	147.4	19.0%	9,510	26.0%
Coos County	Oregon	27.1	266.5	9.0%	4,909	7.0%
Tillamook County	Oregon	26.6	110.8	19.0%	4,285	40.0%
Clatsop County	Oregon	16.7	85.5	16.0%	4,017	19.0%
Top 10 Counties in Oregon Ranked by Potential Risk Counties are ranked by the number of square miles of undeveloped land in the wildland interface.
Douglas County	Oregon	40.5	964.4	4.0%	4,735	8.0%
Lane County	Oregon	78.9	626.6	11.0%	13,704	7.0%
Jackson County	Oregon	82.9	463.7	15.0%	7,647	5.0%
Klamath County	Oregon	14.9	338.6	4.0%	2,421	23.0%
Coos County	Oregon	27.1	266.5	9.0%	4,909	7.0%
Grant County	Oregon	1.7	235.9	1.0%	275	14.0%
Linn County	Oregon	4.0	213.0	2.0%	1,192	11.0%
Josephine County	Oregon	119.1	185.7	39.0%	12,451	5.0%
Curry County	Oregon	10.9	154.8	7.0%	2,373	12.0%
Lake County	Oregon	0.1	154.7	0.0%	7	57.0%

Click on column headers to see all data in the West sorted by that column.

West | Arizona | California | Colorado | Idaho | Montana | New Mexico | Nevada | Oregon | Utah | Washington | Wyoming

Headwaters Economics
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Ray Rasker Ph.D. 406.570.7044 | Ben Alexander 406.599.7423 | Patty Gude 406.599.7425 | Jeff van den Noort 406.599.1653
Mark Haggerty 406.570.5626 | Julia Haggerty Ph.D. 406.600.1766

Banner photo is by Ray Rasker.

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