Officials in Lane County are urging local businesses to make sure they’re ready for increased wildfire danger as a fire season that is expected to bring above-normal fire activity approaches.
“A lot of times when we think about wildfire risk, we think about our homes,” said County Community and Economic Development Analyst Samantha Roberts. “And rightfully so. Those are very important places. But so are our business buildings and people.”
She said it’s important for businesses to think about possible risks and concerns now, before wildfires are highly active and causing situations that require that knowledge.
Those concerns can include making sure that property and employees are safe to ensure that any fire-related halt in operations does not result in larger issues. Such halts can happen even when fires are relatively distant.
"You don’t necessarily have to have a fire in proximity to your business to be impacted,” said Roberts. “We’ve seen that with larger events throughout the last five-six years between the Holiday Farm Fire or Cedar Creek or fire out in central and eastern Oregon. You get the right wind that picks up and there are impacts to the rest of the state."
Lane County Economic Development urged business owners to take the following steps to prepare ahead of wildfires.
- Sign up for Lane Alerts emergency texts to receive alerts.
- Read its free wildfire preparedness checklist and guide on disaster preparedness and insurance.
- Review Oregon OSHA wildfire smoke rules and Lane County’s air quality guidance.
- Encourage employees to be prepared at home for a disaster.
- Clear combustible materials from within five feet of buildings.
- Use the Red Cross Ready Rating program and Small Business Administration (SBA preparedness) checklist to prepare for an emergency.
- Check on wildfire and business interruption insurance coverage.
- Ensure your place of business has evacuation routes, go-kits and that staff are trained for an emergency.
