UPDATES 3/31

• Rising floodwaters continue to affect Harney County, the Burns Paiute Tribe, the City of Burns, and the City of Hines. On March 29th, Governor Kotek declared a state of emergency “ in response to severe flooding in southeastern Oregon, including Harney County and the Burns Paiute Reservation.”

• There is an American Red Cross shelter located at the Harney County Fairgrounds. ODHS is assisting in the support of this shelter

• Over 100 homes have been affected (meaning routes cut off or surrounded by water); Highway 20 is closed; continued snowmelt and flooding will continue to impact the area, stretching resources thin and likely requiring additional support

• There has been a request made for "100 personnel equipped with individual tools (shovels,work gloves, head lamps, etc.) for mass sandbagging and property protection efforts for the [C]ity of Burns. [Imminent] dike failure threatening life and property."  If you have access to a cohort of volunteers capable of meeting all or some of this need, please reach out to ODFN administrators. Use the contact form or simply email: info@oregondisasterfundersnetwork.org

• OEM is collaborating with multiple state partners to address resource needs including sandbagging, flood mapping, assessments of contamination levels, shelter, food, and hygiene for evacuees, and potential National Guard mobilization

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deployed a team to Burns to provide technical assistance in support of reinforcing the failing levee system

• Team Rubicon is coordinating for volunteer support

• We (the ODFN team) are in communication with the Burns Paiute Tribe, several community organizations, OEM and others to stay informed. We look forward to providing additional updates via email and at our meeting this week. We will update the shared tracker as specific financial needs are requested.

UPDATES 3/21

DOUGLAS COUNTY: Residents of Douglas County saw 5.5” of torrential rain in two days from March 15-16, 2025, leading to mudslides on private and public property, collapsed highways, and water-damaged homes.

Central Douglas Fire & Rescue (CDF&R) technical rescue team assisted homeowners evacuating their homes, removed people who were trapped, and assisted in serving evacuation notices in areas not accessible by vehicle. A total of 32 adults, 8 children, and 15 pets were brought to safety by the team. 

More rain followed on Tuesday the 18th, increasing water levels again and causing additional mudslides. Residents and responders remain in “response mode”, as they continue to deploy crews to new landslides, downed trees, flooded roads, and debris cleanup all over the county.

Douglas County reports: “The Oregon State University Extension Service has staff available to assist farmers, wineries, private forest landowners, and ranchers assess damage, estimate losses and determine the potential for Federal assistance. The American Red Cross, at the request of Douglas County, has opened a temporary emergency shelter at the Douglas County Fairgrounds for residents who have been displaced by the storm. At this time, the plan is for the shelter to be open through Sunday. The Red Cross will evaluate the situation on Monday to see if shelter services are still needed.”

The Galesville Dam near Azalea, OR, was pushed to its limit and operating at near capacity, and prevented more disastrous flooding with “the reservoir’s outlet, Cow Creek, [seeing] its highest streamflow since 2006 on Monday.”

COOS COUNTY: A Flood Declaration was issued by the National Weather Service until late Sunday evening, March 23. Minor flooding is forecast for the Coquille River, including Coquille. Residents should expect and prepare for flooding of farmland and low-lying areas throughout the floodplain.

LANE COUNTY: On March 17th, the county stated that “𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟏 (𝐁𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲) 𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫-𝐢𝐧-𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐝.” However, Lane County officials are concerned about residents’ drinking water and are offering tips to assist rural residents who rely on private drinking wells, as flooding can contaminate wells with harmful bacteria. Officials said muddy or cloudy water can be a sign of contaminated water, and encourage residents to boil their water for at least a minute or use an alternative water source.

Footage of a landslide (provided by Lane County Government) on Shoreview Drive, east of Cottage Grove.

Recent Activity

Last updated 2/20/2025: The Summer 2024 wildfires were fierce and devastating. A record breaking 1.9 million acres burned and the Oregon Department of Forestry did not declare an official end to the “fire season” until October 28.

The ODFNetwork coordinated in 2024 and early 2025 to fund organizations across the state, and we remain active in response to remaining needs and the cascading effects of last year’s many wildfires. These include:

Rangeland Fire Protection Associations (RFPAs)-These volunteer organizations authorize rancher participation in fire suppression alongside federal agency firefighters and are often first responders to wildfire. There are nearly 30 individual associations covering over 17 million  acres of private and federally-owned land for fire protection. These are all-volunteer crews of ranchers who have training and legal authority to respond to fires on private and state lands in landscapes where there have been no existing fire protection, and can become authorized to respond to federal lands as well. Many of these groups have reached out as 2024 firefighting depleted their funding, fuel, or necessitated vehicle or equipment maintenance.

Contact us to learn more about these and other funding needs.