We have a great plan. My priority is to move faster on it, and keep the City staff focused on what only the City can do, while facilitating efforts by community partners working at the neighborhood level.
Ashland’s wildfire risk is higher than 97 percent of communities in the country. We’ve been ahead of the curve since launching the Ashland Forest Resiliency Project in 2010 to reduce fuels in our watershed. Our updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan (approved in August 2025) brings that same seriousness inside city limits, informed by hard lessons from Paradise, our neighbors in Talent and Phoenix, and Los Angeles. It lays out a ten-year effort to make our city a fire break instead of a fuel source. (Here’s the Story map version)
I think ten years is too long to wait, and I’ll push for faster progress using proceeds from the monthly wildfire risk reduction fee and community partnerships.
Top priorities for City action are to lead by example with City facilities, harden critical infrastructure so essential services can keep running during and after a fire, update city codes, and serve as the hub to convene and coordinate community partners.
Many Ashland households have already begun the critical work around our homes, by removing flammable vegetation near the house, swapping wooden fences for noncombustible ones where they adjoin the house, and screening vents into crawl spaces and attics. I’ll push for the City to facilitate scaling up those efforts.
Bob Kaplan for Ashland City Council 