"Reality Is Setting In" - Meeting On OR Fire Plan Canceled; Safety Of Panel Couldn't Be Guaranteed

[hatrack]

The last time Oregon tried mapping the state’s wildfire risk, government officials were forced to cancel a public hearing on the topic because the police couldn’t guarantee their safety. “People exploded,” said state Sen. Jeff Golden, a Democrat from southern Oregon, where the danger of wildfire is among the greatest. “There was almost a massive revolt over this.”

Now, almost a year after the first map was withdrawn, Oregon is trying again to better understand which parts of the state are most vulnerable to wildfires and where new regulations might be necessary to better protect residents. How well the second attempt goes could serve as a model — or a warning — for other states trying to get a handle on the real-life consequences of living on a warming planet. “Reality is setting in,” said state Rep. Pam Marsh, a Democrat from southern Oregon. “People are frightened of what all of this means … for their property, for their livelihood, for their long-term ability to stay and work and own land in these highly threatened landscapes.”

Oregon’s new plan for dealing with wildfires is mostly the same as the old plan. But the strategy for handling the public is much different. This time, Oregon residents and local politicians will have a greater hand in shaping the state’s wildfire map.
The first iteration was assembled by scientists and hazard analysts with most public input sought only after a draft was published — and after the state had begun notifying the most hazardous properties on the map to prepare for new regulations

Supporters hope a more transparent process will blunt further backlash. Even if there are potential pitfalls. Some experts worry that subjecting a scientific tool to political influence could jeopardize the map’s integrity. And supporters concede that public outrage might be inevitable because any map that accurately portrays wildfire vulnerability will designate broad swaths of the state as hazardous.

EDIT

https://www.eenews.net/articles/people-exploded-can-oregons-wildfire-plans-survive-the-public/

[Hugh_Lebowski]

1. "subjecting a scientific tool to political influence could jeopardize the map's integrity"

Ya think?

Facts are facts, and residents and local politicians ... mostly don't know what they are.

Time for the state government to be the grownups.