Grants available for rebuilding with fire-resistant materials
Grants are available to help owners of homes and businesses damaged or destroyed in the 2020 wildfires to rebuild with fire-resistant methods and materials.
Lane County is partnering with the Oregon Building Codes Division to launch the grant program. The grants are also available to those who have already rebuilt.
Fire hardening is an important tool to help make homes more resistant to fire. Fire hardening includes actions that make a home or business more resistant to damage from a wildfire, such as using materials for siding and roofing that resist ignition during a wildfire, installing fire-resistant windows to protect openings, or using attic ventilation devices that help reduce ember intrusion.
“These improvements are particularly effective at preventing ignition from embers, which can travel great distances from wildfires,” said Alana Cox, administrator of the Oregon Building Codes Division “We hope this program will help people affected by the wildfires build back more fire-resistant communities.”
The menu of fire hardening improvements includes more fire-resistant roofs, siding and windows that qualify for grant money. Once one or more qualifying improvements have been completed, an eligible applicant can receive grant money through the Lane County Land Management Division.
The following improvements will be incentivized by the program and the listed incentive amounts will be disbursed to eligible applicants once they complete qualifying fire hardening improvements:
- Roofing: $2,200
- External wall covering: $1,750
- Ventilation: $350
- Overhangs, cantilevers, and projections: $400
- Walking surfaces of porches, balconies, and decks: $550
- Windows and skylights: $550
- Skirting (manufactured homes only): $500
- Accessory structures within 50 feet of a residential or commercial building: $500 per structure; $1,000 maximum
To learn more and apply, visit https://www.oregon.gov/bcd/Pages/firehardening.aspx.
Lane County applicants will be directed to an application form, which can be submitted in person to Permit Navigator Marianne Nolte. Find more about the application process at McKenzieRebuilds.org.
