A practical guide for Oregon families
Protect your family, prepare your home, breathe safer during smoke events, and know what to do before, during, and after a wildfire.
If you only do five things
Small, finished steps are more useful than a perfect plan that never leaves the notebook.
Register for Lane Alerts or find your county system through OR-Alert.
Find local alertsChoose routes, meeting places, an out-of-area contact, and who will help anyone needing extra time.
Keep medications, documents, chargers, maps, animal supplies, and essential comfort items ready to carry.
Clear the first five feet, then maintain vegetation and access across the rest of the property.
Set up a cleaner-air room, review coverage, and make a home inventory before conditions deteriorate.
Oregon's three evacuation levels
Color helps people scan, but the level number and action words carry the meaning. Always follow the instructions in the actual alert.
A danger exists nearby. Stay informed and get ready to leave.
There is significant danger. Be ready to leave at a moment's notice.
There is extreme danger. Leave immediately.
Plan for people and animals
Build the plan around the real needs of your household: school schedules, mobility, medication, transportation, animals, and the possibility that cell service will fail.
A go-bag is for leaving quickly. Keep a separate, larger supply for longer emergencies at home.
Wildfire smoke
PM2.5 is fine particle pollution small enough to travel deep into the lungs. AQI translates monitored pollution into health-concern categories. Smoke can move and intensify quickly, so check current local conditions instead of relying on how the sky looks.
Check LRAPA's current AQIChoose a room that closes off well. When outdoor air is smoky, close windows and doors and run a correctly sized portable HEPA air cleaner or filtration setup supported by current OHA guidance.
Check the HVAC manual or ask a qualified professional which filter the system can handle. Follow official instructions for any DIY box-fan filter. Never block exits or create a trip, overheating, or electrical hazard.
Avoid smoking, candles, unnecessary frying, and other indoor particle sources. In a vehicle, set ventilation to recirculate while moving through smoke.
A properly fitted NIOSH-approved N95 or P100 may help when current health guidance recommends it. Cloth, dust, and surgical masks do not effectively filter wildfire smoke particles. Respirators do not fit or work for everyone, especially children.
Children can be more affected because their airways are developing and they breathe more air relative to body weight. Plan indoor activities, check school or daycare guidance, improve filtration, keep medication plans current, and know where to go for cleaner air.
Older adults, pregnant people, people with heart or lung conditions, infants and children, outdoor workers, and others may be more affected. Keep necessary medication available, follow written care plans, and contact a health professional if symptoms worsen.
Defensible space & home hardening
Embers can collect in small gaps and ignite roofs, decks, mulch, leaves, fencing, or stored materials. Work outward in Oregon's current zones and include every structure on the property.
Recommended risk reduction
Home hardening and defensible space can reduce the chance that embers or nearby fire ignite a structure. Choose projects based on the property, local professional guidance, and safe work practices.
OSFM guidance and free assessmentCode requirements
Oregon finalized a model defensible-space code in 2026 for voluntary local adoption. It is not automatically mandatory statewide. BCD says ORSC Section R327 applies to specified new construction where a local building department has adopted it. Ask the local building department what applies before work.
Oregon building-code guidanceWildfire and Oregon home insurance
Insurance is important preparation, but it is only one section of this safety guide. Policy language and the insurer's actual decision always control.
Oregon repealed the statewide wildfire hazard map in 2025. Senate Bill 82 prohibits an insurance company from using any state-published wildfire hazard map to increase a homeowners premium, cancel a policy, or refuse renewal. That does not mean wildfire risk cannot affect insurance: DFR says insurers may use lawful property factors and their own proprietary models.
Verify with Oregon DFRDFR identifies factors such as location, surrounding vegetation, availability and accessibility of fire protection, home age and replacement cost, construction and materials, maintenance, claim history, catastrophe losses, and rebuilding labor and material costs. Each company has its own filed underwriting appetite.
Mitigation can reduce physical risk, but it does not guarantee eligibility, renewal, a lower rate, or a discount. Ask the insurer how documented work affects its own underwriting.
Actual coverage depends on the policy, endorsements, limits, deductibles, cause of loss, and insurer.
Not sure what your policy actually covers? Brandon can help you review the protection you have and identify questions worth asking before wildfire season.
Review your protectionOregon recovery help
Start with the need in front of you—safe shelter, food, a claim question, cleanup guidance, emotional support, or a path toward stable housing. These links lead to organizations that can explain what is available for your location and wildfire.
Call 911 for immediate danger or a life-threatening emergency. For non-emergency wildfire needs, Oregon Department of Human Services can help survivors navigate food, shelter, replacement SNAP benefits, 211 referrals, and other support.
If you cannot safely return, tell the shelter or navigator about medications, mobility or communication needs, children, service animals, pets, and transportation. Keep lodging, meal, clothing, transportation, and essential-purchase receipts.
Contact the insurer promptly, document damage only from a safe location, save receipts, and ask about inspections, temporary repairs, additional living expenses, deadlines, deductibles, and what must be approved before cleanup or disposal.
Wait for official re-entry clearance. Structural ash and debris can contain asbestos, lead, mercury, chemicals, sharp objects, and hidden fire or structural hazards. Do not begin major cleanup based only on general internet advice.
Burned land can have unstable trees, damaged roads, erosion, runoff, reforestation, grazing, and salvage questions. Oregon Department of Forestry maintains post-fire resources and can connect landowners with a local stewardship forester.
Stress, grief, disrupted sleep, difficulty concentrating, and strong reactions can continue after immediate danger passes. Keep routines where possible, limit repeated exposure to distressing coverage, and give children simple, honest information and predictable check-ins.
Begin with OHCS housing navigation, a local community action agency, ODHS, or 211info. Ask which programs are open for this wildfire and whether applying affects other insurance or disaster benefits.
During evacuation & after the fire
A home that did not burn
Air out only when outdoor air is safe. Check and replace HVAC filters as appropriate, inspect filtration equipment, damp-clean hard surfaces, launder fabrics according to care instructions, and evaluate porous materials. Document damage and contact the insurer before major remediation when coverage may be involved. Extensive contamination may need a qualified restoration professional; a light odor alone does not automatically mean expensive remediation is necessary.
Download & print
Each original checklist opens as a clean, black-and-white-friendly page. Use your browser's Print / Save as PDF option to keep a digital copy.
A refrigerator-ready plan for alerts, routes, go-bags, vehicles, and leaving safely.
Open printable →Essentials to carry during a fast evacuation, organized so each household member can pack deliberately.
Open printable →Prepare a cleaner-air room, filtration, medications, and reliable Oregon air-quality sources before smoke arrives.
Open printable →A zone-by-zone Oregon checklist for embers, vegetation, access, and practical building improvements.
Open printable →A practical animal plan for identification, supplies, transport, early relocation, and shelter.
Open printable →Questions and documentation to review before wildfire season without assuming what any policy covers.
Open printable →A cautious return-and-document checklist based on Oregon environmental and insurance guidance.
Open printable →A fill-in worksheet for contacts, meeting places, routes, schools, medical needs, and backup communication.
Open printable →Help kids prepare without scaring them
Use simple language: grown-ups have a plan, helpers will give instructions, and everyone has a small job. Let children pack comfort items, draw the meeting place, and spot simple home-safety tasks.
Circle practical items and draw one comfort item.
Download SVGDraw the safe place your family chose together.
Download SVGColor a home while finding leaves, wood, and other things to move.
Download SVGLane County · Eugene · Springfield
Lane County first responders use Lane Alerts for emergency information, including evacuation notices. The City of Eugene also points residents to Lane Alerts, the Emergency Alert System, and Wireless Emergency Alerts. LRAPA provides Lane County air monitoring and current AQI information.
Do not rely on one channel. Keep more than one way to receive alerts and official updates.
Frequently asked questions
Level 1 means Be Ready, Level 2 means Be Set to leave at a moment's notice, and Level 3 means Go Now. Oregon officials also say not to wait for another notice if you feel unsafe. People and animals that need more time should consider leaving earlier.
Leave immediately at Level 3. At Level 1 or 2, consider leaving earlier when children, older adults, disabilities, medical needs, limited transportation, pets, or livestock make evacuation slower. You may leave before Level 3 if conditions feel unsafe.
Pack water, portable food, medications, first aid, clothing, chargers, lights, a radio, identification and insurance copies, keys, cash, paper maps, hygiene items, glasses, child comfort items, and animal supplies. Keep a larger emergency supply separately for longer disruptions.
Start at the structure and first five feet: clear roofs and gutters, repair gaps, keep decks and under-deck areas free of debris, and move combustible mulch and stored items away. Then maintain vegetation and access through the 5–30 foot and 30–100+ foot zones.
Defensible space is the maintained area between a structure and surrounding vegetation or other fuels. Oregon State Fire Marshal guidance uses the home itself, 0–5 feet, 5–30 feet, and 30–100+ feet as practical work zones.
Choose a room that can be closed from the rest of the home, keep windows and doors closed when outdoor air is smoky, and use a correctly sized portable HEPA air cleaner or other filtration supported by current health guidance. Avoid creating extra indoor particles and monitor local AQI.
Oregon repealed the statewide wildfire hazard map in 2025. State law also prohibits an insurer from using any state-published wildfire hazard map to increase a homeowners premium, cancel a policy, or refuse renewal. Contact Oregon DFR if an insurer says otherwise.
The map protection does not prohibit lawful underwriting. Insurers may consider location, vegetation, fire protection, construction, home age and replacement cost, claim history, and their own risk analysis. Companies also differ in the amount and type of risk they will accept.
Photograph or video every room, closet, garage, shed, and important outdoor item. Save model or serial information and receipts where practical, keep secure copies away from the property, and review policy limits, deductibles, and insurer contact information.
Wait for official clearance. Watch for structural, electrical, utility, tree, ash, and water hazards. Document damage from a safe location, contact the insurer, and follow Oregon DEQ and local guidance before disturbing ash or debris.
Official Oregon resources & sources
This page summarizes current guidance in original language. It does not reproduce live incident data. Follow these agencies for current instructions and details.
Emergency orders, current public-health instructions, local codes, licensed professional advice, and your insurance policy take priority. Coverage, eligibility, rates, and discounts depend on the policy and insurer. Widener Agency does not guarantee that any mitigation project will change underwriting or price.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026.
