Misinformation Surge Led Oregon Lawmakers to Scrap Wildfire Risk Map

Oregon’s Wildfire Risk Map Falls Victim to Misinformation Campaign

When Oregon lawmakers ordered a statewide wildfire risk map in 2021, they intended to create a tool that would help protect communities from devastating fires like those that destroyed more than 2,000 homes in 2020. Instead, the map became the center of a misinformation storm that ultimately led to its demise.

The initiative began with promise. Following Oregon’s worst fire season on record, state officials commissioned Oregon State University scientist Chris Dunn to develop a comprehensive map identifying wildfire risk for every property in the state. The goal was to determine where new fire-resistant construction codes and defensible space requirements would apply.

Around the same time, insurance companies began dropping homeowners’ policies and raising premiums across Oregon, similar to actions taken in other disaster-prone states. Though insurers relied on their own sophisticated risk assessment tools, some insurance brokers incorrectly told homeowners that the state’s new map was to blame for their coverage problems.

This misconception quickly gained traction on social media and in mainstream news, despite clear statements from both insurance companies and state regulators that it wasn’t true. When state officials formally asked insurers if they had used the map for underwriting decisions, companies filed legally binding statements confirming they had not.

“Insurance companies have been using their own risk maps and other robust risk management tools to assess wildfire risk for years,” said Andrew Stolfi, Oregon’s insurance commissioner at the time.

Nevertheless, the narrative that the map was causing property devaluation and insurance problems continued to spread. Conservative media figures amplified the concerns, with talk radio host Bill Meyer suggesting the map was part of an effort to “depopulate rural areas.” Some critics even invoked conspiracy theories about United Nations involvement in forcing people into cities.

Dunn, who had envisioned Oregon becoming a national model for wildfire adaptation, saw his work becoming increasingly politicized. He had warned state officials about the need for a coordinated communications campaign months before the map’s release, but the state developed only minimal outreach materials.

Without proper context, many homeowners first learned their properties were in “extreme risk” zones through a July 2022 letter informing them they had 60 days to appeal or face compliance with forthcoming regulations. Community tensions escalated to the point where one meeting where Dunn was scheduled to present was canceled due to threats of violence.

Just over a month after its release, state officials withdrew the map, acknowledging there hadn’t been enough time for proper local outreach. Dunn was tasked with revising it, but the damage was done. A Facebook group opposing the map had already grown to more than 6,000 members, where misinformation continued to flourish.

When the revised map was released in 2023, officials changed the terminology, replacing “extreme risk” with “high hazard” to make it less alarming. They also conducted more community outreach. Despite these efforts, more than 6,000 landowners filed appeals against their properties’ designations.

By early 2025, political opposition had solidified. Christine Drazan, the Oregon House Republican leader, joined other Republicans in calling for the map’s repeal, claiming it was “destroying property values” despite lacking evidence for such claims. Even Jeff Golden, the Democratic state senator who helped draft the bill creating the map, began to waver.

“I got tired of trying to convince people that the model was smarter than they were,” Golden said.

In April 2025, the state Senate voted unanimously to repeal both the map and its associated defensible-space requirements. The House followed with a 50-1 vote, with State Representative Dacia Grayber, a firefighter who had worked during the 2020 wildfires, casting the lone vote against repeal.

Grayber expressed dismay that the decision was “100% based in misinformation,” noting that the requirements targeted precisely the hazards she looked for when defending homes: firewood under decks, cedar shake siding, and flammable vegetation near structures.

Governor Tina Kotek signed the repeal on July 24, 2025, effectively ending Oregon’s attempt to create a statewide approach to wildfire preparedness.

Former California insurance commissioner Dave Jones called the decision “very unfortunate,” suggesting that Oregon had missed an opportunity to follow states like Colorado in requiring insurers to account for homeowners’ risk-reduction efforts in their coverage decisions.

Despite the map’s demise, Oregon’s climate continues to grow hotter and drier, increasing wildfire risks across the state. Meanwhile, insurance companies are still using their own risk assessments to guide coverage decisions, with or without the state’s official map.