ODF official apologizes for public annoyance situations
Oregon Department of Forestry
A public apology has been issued by Oregon Dept. of Forestry (ODF) regarding an ill-starred public hearing that made a number of Josephine County residents angry and anxious.
The apology, in the form of a newsletter with information about the Oregon Forestland-Urban Interface Protection Act, was sent to rural land owners by Dan Thorpe, ODF’s S.W. District forester.
Thorpe said in the communication that another hearing will be held, and that there will be town hall meetings in the fall. Property owners will be contacted by mail in advance of both, he wrote.
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He noted that the July 18 hearing at the county fairgrounds in Grants Pass was preceded by a letter. But, he said:
“Unfortunately, the letter inviting people to the hearing contained way too little information, and served only to anger, confuse or frighten many who received it.
“The number of people who tried to attend the hearing,” he continued in part, “far exceeded our expectations and the Josephine County Forestland-Urban Interface Classification Committee, which called the hearing. We expected 200 to 400 people; the room could hold as many as 700.
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“So many people tried to come to the hearing that most never got into the parking lot. We had to cancel the hearing, and the traffic backup caused a public safety hazard.
“For all this, ODF extends its apology. We also ask that the members of the committee not be blamed for this situation.”
Thorpe added that the committee’s job “is to identify areas in the county where homes are at risk of damage or destruction by wildfire, and then apply a fire-risk classification to those areas.”
Written testimony received by the committee will be acted on, he said.
