How to Prepare for Oregon’s Wildfire Season (2025)

Posted on July 3, 2025 by Cassie Allen
Tags, Oregon Utilities 101, Energy, General Interest

As summer months continue to grow longer and hotter each year, the risk of large-scale wildfires in Oregon continues to increase. Many people in Oregon live in high wildfire-risk areas. It’s essential to prepare ahead of time for wildfires to ensure you and your family can stay safe.

In this blog, we lay out how to stay informed of utility shut-offs, how to prepare ahead of time, and what you can do to prepare your home in case of a wildfire.

Stay Informed of Utility Shut-Offs

Oregon electric utilities will be using public safety shutoffs as a last resort. Shutting off power during fire season is itself a public hazard. Shutoffs can interrupt cell phone service, delay emergency response, and endanger the health of residents. Many people need home cooling and electricity access to manage medical conditions. Shutoffs are particularly hazardous when they coincide with extreme heat waves.

Not all areas are subject to these preventative outages. Only customers in certain high-risk zones will see public safety shutoffs.

During periods of high wildfire risk, utilities may shut off power to mitigate the risk of a fire. In order to stay informed on utility shut-offs in your area, each utility company has a different way of receiving alerts.

Portland General Electric:
Sign up for text alerts through your account. Download the PGE app for up-to-date alerts.

Pacific Power:
Sign up for text alerts through your account. Download the Pacific Power app for up-to-date alerts.

Idaho Power:
Sign up for text alerts through your account. Download the Idaho Power app to receive real-time alerts.

For more in-depth information on wildfire emergencies and alerts, download the FEMA mobile app to receive details on large-scale wildfires. During an emergency declaration, FEMA updates its app to ensure people have access to up-to-date evacuation information.

Prepare Ahead of Time

It’s critical to have a clearly laid out emergency plan that everyone in your household is familiar with. There are many ways to develop an emergency plan with your household, and each household is different. The Department of Homeland Security has created a helpful, interactive outline for disaster planning.

Here’s what you can do to prepare for a wildfire:

Emergency Kits: Prepare kits with essential items like food, water, medications, and important documents. Have enough supplies for at least two weeks.
Communication Plan: Make a plan to stay in touch with your family and know different evacuation routes.
Alerts and Notifications: Sign up for local emergency alerts to stay updated on wildfire news. The FEMA mobile app and local county notifications can give real-time alerts.

Make sure that once you have your plan in place, everyone in your household understands the plan and reviews it every few months.

It’s Time to Evacuate, What’s in Your Go-Bag?

It’s essential to have a go-bag ready in your house in case of an emergency. Each person’s go-bag contents may vary, but there are some essentials that every go-bag should have:

An N95 Respirator for every household member
1 gallon of water for every person, per day, for several days
A five-day supply of nonperishable food for every person in your household
Battery-powered or hand-crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
Flashlight
First Aid kit
Extra batteries
Whistle
Hand sanitizer, moist towelettes, and toilet paper
Can opener
Solar cellphone charger or a fully charged battery-powered cellphone charger
A five-day supply of any important medications

These items should be placed in an easily accessible space in your home. If you are able to, it is recommended you grab any important personal documents, like your passport, along with your go-bag.

Prepare Your Home

One of the best ways to protect your home is by creating a defensible space around it. This means:

Clearing Vegetation: Remove dead plants, dry leaves, and other flammable materials from your yard.
Plant Selection: Choose plants that are less likely to catch fire. Oregon State University has resources to help you pick the right ones.
Maintaining Property: Regularly mow the lawn, trim trees, and clean out gutters.

Home Hardening

Making changes to your home can help it resist catching fire from embers and heat. Here are some tips:

Roof and Gutters: Use fire-resistant materials for your roof and keep gutters clean.
Vents and Openings: Cover vents with mesh to keep embers out.
Windows and Doors: Install double-paned windows and make sure doors are fire-resistant.

By taking these steps, you can help keep your home and family safe during wildfire season. Preparedness is key. Always remember, the safety of you and your family comes first.

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