Wildfires are increasingly impacting agricultural lands in eastern Oregon due to a changing climate, invasive annual grasses, and evolving farming practices. Dryland wheat producers have adopted no-till farming to reduce erosion and boost yields, but the resulting crop residue increases wildfire fuel loads, making fires harder to suppress.
In 2018, nearly 120,000 acres of dryland wheat and rangeland burned in Wasco and Sherman counties. The Substation Fire alone burned 80,000 acres and killed a farm employee. In response, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) introduced wildfire training requirements in Oregon in 2019 for employers and workers involved in wildfire suppression. These include documented emergency plans and both initial and annual training — but without corresponding educational resources, many producers remained unaware or unprepared.
To meet this need, Jacob Powell, an Oregon State University Extension Service crops and livestock faculty member with wildfire expertise, began developing and delivering targeted trainings. Starting in 2020, Powell led both in-person and virtual sessions explaining OSHA rules and teaching wildfire prevention and safety tailored to farming operations. He also collaborated with a wheat producer to design farm emergency plans that are both compliant and practical.
“We greatly appreciate having wildfire training available for our employees that focuses on crops and meets OSHA requirements. No one else is offering this material.”
Powell expanded his outreach through webinars, roundtables with fire managers and invited presentations, reaching over 600 people between 2020 and spring 2022. He created an online course and, in 2023, completed two on-demand courses through OSU’s Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) unit: Wildfire Preparedness in Agriculture and Agricultural Wildfire Behavior and Suppression.
In 2023 and 2024, Powell’s trainings reached 235 people in person, and 173 more enrolled in his online courses in 2024. He also delivered wildfire preparedness information to 62 additional homeowners and producers. His curriculum covers wildfire risk in agricultural areas, defensible space, equipment safety, livestock evacuation and suppression tactics farmers may need while awaiting fire crews.
The trainings are showing clear results. In 2023, 43 participants reported they would take additional wildfire preparedness actions, representing an estimated $43,000 in investment. Using a conservative estimate that every $1 spent on prevention saves $35 in damages, this could equal over $1.5 million in avoided losses. Additionally, 42 participants reported increased knowledge on defensible space, 14 felt safer during fire suppression efforts, and 12 planned to adjust their wildfire response strategies.
One participant commented, “We greatly appreciate having wildfire training available for our employees that focuses on crops and meets OSHA requirements. No one else is offering this material.”
As wildfires continue to challenge Oregon’s agricultural communities, Powell’s work is equipping producers with the tools, knowledge and confidence they need to better prepare for and respond to wildfire threats.
