Property Owners and Eastern Oregon Counties File Lawsuit Over Wildfire Hazard Map

Today, the OPOA Legal Center, alongside Harney County, Grant County, and a coalition of concerned property owners, filed a lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Forestry and the State Forester. You can read the lawsuit at the bottom of this post. 

The lawsuit, filed in Harney County Circuit Court, seeks a range of remedies, including a judicial order to set aside the Wildfire Hazard Map and invalidate all of the Orders sent to property owners so far.

The lawsuit raises several arguments challenging the validity of the Hazard Map. Chief among them is that the State Forester failed to follow proper procedures when assigning wildfire hazard or wildland urban interface designations to each Oregon tax lot, thus depriving property owners of proper notice and prejudicing their constitutional rights and ability to challenge their designation.

On January 7, 2025, ODF distributed information packets (“Notices”) to owners of properties classified as “High Hazard” and in the “Wildland Urban Interface” (WUI). However, these Notices were legally deficient: they were not signed by the State Forester or her designee and omitted essential details regarding the consequences of the classification decisions— such as the requirement that property owners must disclose that their property is in the WUI if they sell their property.

Owners of properties that are not both High Hazard and in the WUI were deprived of Notice all together. Instead, the Department of Forestry relied exclusively on publishing the Wildfire Map on the Oregon Explorer Map Viewer website, a method we argue falls far short of individualized notice and is a breach of procedural requirements under Oregon law.

T. Beau Ellis, the lead trial attorney assisting us on the matter has this to say:

 The failure to provide proper notice to property owners is not a trivial administrative error— it strips Oregonians of the right to know and to appeal decisions that significantly impact their livelihoods. ODF’s approach leaves countless property owners in the dark, denying them the fair process they are guaranteed under both state law and the Constitution.

We want to be crystal clear – our goal in filing this lawsuit is not to undermine efforts to address wildfires, but to ensure that these efforts are conducted in a manner that respects the rights of those most affected. Oregon needs a strong program that’s accepted by the public – this Map has made that impossible.

Moreover, this lawsuit underscores an urgent demand: state officials must follow established legal protocols and provide every property owner with a clear path to contest decisions that directly impact their lives. In an era where activist groups are already proposing regulations that could prevent Oregonians from building or rebuilding in designated hazard areas, transparency and accountability are not optional—they are essential.

Above all, this lawsuit seeks to defend the property rights of those who are scared, confused, and unsure of what this map means for them. Since the rollout of the map, hundreds of property owners have asked for our assistance. There are hundreds more who have no idea that this Map legally affects them, or do not have the technical capabilities to utilize the Map. 

On behalf of the OPOA Legal Center, we want it to be known loud and clear:

We stand with the hundreds of rural families and property owners across Oregon who have called our office asking for help. This is our way of demanding that your voices are heard and your rights are protected.

We would like to thank and commend the property owners, as well as Harney County and Grant County for stepping up for their neighbors and constituents in this fight. Without this effort, too many Oregonians are left in the dark about what this Map means.

You can read the lawsuit below: