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Wildfire Programs Advisory Council



The Wildfire Programs Advisory Council was established in 2021 following the passage of Senate Bill 762.

Senate Bill 762 is the product of years of hard work by the Governor’s Council on Wildfire Response, the Legislature, state agencies, and Oregonians across the state. This comprehensive legislation passed with bipartisan support and provides more than $195 million to help Oregon modernize and improve wildfire preparedness through three key strategies: creating fire-adapted communities, developing safe and effective responses, and increasing the resiliency of Oregon’s landscapes.

Together, the Wildfire Programs Advisory Council will work to recommend and implement policies that will help prevent and better respond to wildfire, and create more fire resilient communities and landscapes in Oregon.

2025  Scheduled Meetings:

January 17, 2025
April 18, 2025
July 18, 2025
October 17, 2025

Council Members

Wildfire Programs Advisory Council Appointees by Position-2024

Chairperson, Dave Hunnicutt
Member who represents rural residential property owners whose property is wholly or partially within the wildland-urban interface

Vice Chairperson, Mary Kyle McCurdy 
Member who represents state or regional land use planning organizations

Branden Pursinger 
Member representing County Government

Ty Darby
Member who represents fire marshals with wildland-urban interface firefighting experience

Joshua Shaklee 
Member who is a land use planning director for a wildland-urban interface county

Jim McCauley 
Member representing City Government

Bradley Clark
Member who is a land use planning director for a wildland-urban interface city

Nick Browne
Member who represents fire chiefs with wildland-urban interface firefighting experience

Pat Skrip
Member who represents firefighters with wildland-urban interface firefighting experience 

Samantha Bayer 
Member who represents farmers whose land is wholly or partially within the wildland-urban interface

John O’Keeffe 
Member who represents ranchers whose land is wholly or partially within the wildland-urban interface

Chad Washington
Member who represents forestland owners whose property is wholly or partially within the wildland-urban interface

Vacant
Member who represents federally recognized Indian tribes with land wholly or partially within the wildland-urban interface

Bill Messner
Member who represents a utility company

Susan Jane Brown 
Member who represents environmental interests

Terry Fairbanks 
Member who represents forest resiliency interests

Garrett West
Member who represents land and housing development interests or real estate industry interests

Sarah Worthington 
Member who represents public health professionals

Ilene Vargas
Member who represents the environmental justice community 

Staff Support

Meeting Recordings

Meeting Materials

October 11, 2024

September 13, 2024

July 12, 2024

April 12, 2024

January 19, 2024

December 18, 2023

October 13, 2023

July 14, 2023

April 14, 2023

March 3, 2023

January 20, 2023

December 2, 2022

October 14, 2022

September 26, 2022

August 12, 2022

July 8, 2022

April 8, 2022

January 14, 2022

November 5, 2021

Council Materials and Director Reports

Wildfire Director's Report