Wildlife

Southern Lane County community petitions to form own fire district

KLCC | By Rebecca Hansen-White

Published November 30, 2023 at 8:16 AM PST

Members of the Row River Fire Response Auxiliary Unit, which was created by volunteers to protect the region from wildfire. They have used two donated fire trucks to fight fires while they work to start an official fire district.

Residents of the southern Lane County community around Dorena Lake are one step closer to forming their own fire district.

Reta Cochrane, one of the petitioners behind an initiative to form the Row River Fire District, said residents depend on volunteers, and assistance from other districts. She said it can take more than 40 minutes for firefighters from other areas to respond to 911 calls. She said neighboring districts are doing their best, but the valley needs its own station to protect itself from fast-moving wildfires.

“I fought a fire on my doorstep,” she said. “That fire leveled four homes and my barn before it was brought under control by an (Oregon Department of Forestry) helicopter. I believe the cost of that fire alone could have funded a much needed fire station for us.”

Cochrane was one of two dozen residents from the rural community who attended an initial public hearing to show their support for the proposal.

The Lane County Commissioners voted to move the petition forward and hold a final hearing on Jan. 9 at 1:30 p.m. They will then be able to put the question to voters in the proposed district in the May 2024 election.

Many residents, including Rene Williams of Dorena, said they were confident the ballot measure will pass. She said the community had already started a successful water district.

“We desperately need our own fire district, we desperately want to be self-sufficient,” Williams said. “That’s part of the joy of living out in the Row River Valley.”