Lane County, OR Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies in
- F-1 Important Forest Land and F-2 Forest Land districts
- Factors scored
- slope, aspect, vegetation, two fire-department response times
- Score range
- 5 to 20 points from five combined factors
- Impact bands
- 5-6 No Impact, 7-11 Minor, 12-20 Severe Adverse
- Reviewed by
- Planning Director or County Hearings Official
- Tied to
- LC 10.103-25(4) special-use approval criteria
Summary
Before Lane County approves a new dwelling in the Important Forest Land (F-1) or Forest Land (F-2) districts, the applicant must score the site's wildfire risk on the county's five-factor Wildfire Hazard Severity Rates System. Slope, aspect and fire-department response time feed into a point total the Planning Director or Hearings Official weighs under Lane Code § 10.103-60.
The physical characteristics of a proposed development which have the most impact on fire severity have been identified along the top of the chart. Four dangers of fire hazards are shown below each criterion. The left column provides a numerical rating for each fire hazard. Place the appropriate rating number in the blank at the bottom of each column. Add these five ratings together to determine the point total. The impact level determined by the point total can then be read from the box below the chart.
Full Breakdown
104-50, sets out a numeric scoring chart used whenever someone applies to site a single-family dwelling, mobile home or other special use on Important Forest Land (F-1) or Forest Land (F-2) zoned property outside the cities. The chart rates five physical characteristics, slope, aspect, Forestry Department response time, ground vegetation, and rural fire district response time, on a 1-to-4 scale: a flat 0-5% slope with a 15-minute Forestry Department response and old-growth timber scores lowest, while a steep 40%-plus slope with a 60-minute response and slash or grass ground cover scores highest.
The five ratings are added into one point total, and the chart sorts that total into three impact bands: 5-6 points reads No Impact, 7-11 points reads Minor Impact, and 12-20 points reads Severe Adverse Impact. 103-25(4) folds that score directly into the special-use approval standard for a forest-zone dwelling: the Director, on Type II review, or the Hearings Official, on Type III review, must find the proposed use does not interfere with farm or forest activities and is compatible with retaining surrounding forest uses, considering, among other things, the wildfire rating this chart produces.
The section doesn't write in an automatic denial threshold, but a high score is evidence the reviewing official weighs alongside the required 500-foot buffer from neighboring forest or agricultural land, the 100-foot fuel break, and the on-site fire suppression system the same dwelling application must show.
Violations & Fines
Because the wildfire rating is an approval criterion rather than a stand-alone permit, there's no separate fine for the score itself. Building without the required Type II or Type III special-use approval, or violating a condition that approval imposed based on the fire-hazard chart, triggers Lane Code Chapter 10 enforcement: the county issues a notice of failure to comply under LC 10.990, and continued noncompliance is referred for an administrative civil penalty under LC 5.025.025.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Lane County's Wildfire Hazard Severity Rates System?
Does a high wildfire score block my building permit?
Which zones use this wildfire rating chart?
Who reviews the wildfire rating on my application?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lane County
Compare Lane County to another location·View the Oregon fire regulations overview
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