Fire-Ready Homes
Keeping McKenzie River homes insurable, and families on the river, by helping owners make their homes far more likely to survive the next wildfire.
The project in one minute
Active. The homeowner toolkit is live; community sessions, chipper days and grant help are next.
The McKenzie River corridor in Lane County, Oregon, from Walterville to McKenzie Bridge.
Homeowners, landlords and renters, local businesses, and everyone who depends on the river’s tax base.
The local front door: we explain options, connect owners to agencies and experts, organize work days and raise funds.
$25,000 to $75,000 a year for phase 1: a part-time coordinator, grant help and chipper days.
Every guide, checklist and log is free for other rural communities to adapt.
A home that can’t be insured can’t stay on the river
In September 2020 the Holiday Farm Fire burned 173,393 acres along the McKenzie and destroyed most of Blue River. Six years later, families are still rebuilding. Now a quieter threat is hitting the same homes: wildfire insurance.
Premiums are climbing, some insurers are pulling back, and a home that can’t be insured can’t get a mortgage, is hard to sell, and may not be rebuilt after the next fire. When owners can’t get coverage, families leave. Property values slip, and the stores, schools and volunteer fire crews that depend on them get thinner.
The local front door
- The help exists, but it’s scattered. The fire district, the State Fire Marshal, the county and the state insurance regulator each hold a piece. Residents shouldn’t have to know which agency does what.
- We’re local and neutral. MCP doesn’t sell anything. We explain options in plain language and connect people to the programs that already exist.
- We lead with insurance, not fire science. “Keep your insurance and lower your premium” is the question residents ask. Survivability is the answer behind it.
- We build once and share widely. Everything we make is free for other rural communities to use.
The plan grows with funding
Each phase stands on its own. Volunteers keep phase 0 going no matter what; funding is what lets us reach more homes.
Fire-Ready Homes toolkit
Live now: a ranked 7-step checklist, guides on insurance, the first 5 feet and grants, and a printable photo log. Free inspections and insurance help are one call away.
A coordinator on the river
- Hands-on grant help for seniors and absentee owners
- Spring and fall chipper days
- “Keeping your home insurable” sessions with local fire experts
- Short local how-to videos
- A push to certify rebuilt homes under IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home
Work on the ground
- Defensible space and home hardening for vulnerable owners
- Cost-share for owners who can’t front the money
- Help for neighborhoods seeking group insurance recognition
Why this matters beyond one house
Homes stay insurable
Insurance keeps mortgages, sales and rebuilding possible, which protects property values and the county tax base.
Fewer homes lost
Embers start most home fires in a wildfire. Homes with cleared zones and screened vents are far more likely to survive, and easier for crews to defend.
Families stay
People who can stay keep the river’s schools, stores, churches and volunteer crews going.
A model others can use
Rural towns across the Cascades face the same problem. Our toolkit is free for them to copy and adapt.
Ways to help this project
MCP is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3). Gifts to this project pay for the work described above, and we report what changed.
Give any amount
Keeps the toolkit current (we recheck every program at least twice a year), prints checklists for the community center and post office, and funds community sessions.
Sponsor a chipper day
Local businesses can cover equipment rental and crew for a spring or fall chipper day, with credit on our site and in River Updates.
Fund the coordinator
Foundations, utilities and agencies can fund phase 1 directly. MCP can apply as the lead or partner with the fire district.
Results we’ll report
Residents have told us they’re tired of meetings that don’t change anything. So we’ll count what happens and report it here and in River Updates.
- Free home inspections requested
- Grant applications submitted and funded
- Homes certified under IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home
- Tons of brush chipped on chipper days
- Owners who kept or regained coverage, or lowered their premium
So far: the Fire-Ready Homes toolkit launched in October 2026.
Before you give
Yes. McKenzie Community Partnership (McKenzie Community Development Corporation) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax ID 93-1186618. Gifts are deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Yes. Note “Fire-Ready Homes” with your gift and we’ll put it toward this project.
Agencies run good programs, but each holds one piece, and many residents never hear about them. MCP is the local front door that gets people to the help that already exists, and fills gaps such as chipper days and hands-on grant help.
Phase 0 continues with volunteers. Funding decides how many homes we can reach and how fast.
MCP doesn’t sell services. Any contractor directory will use published criteria and disclose conflicts of interest.
Yes: sponsor a chipper day, donate equipment or services, or host a community session. Contact us.