Oregon is going to be on fire again this summer. The sky may be filled with smoke even if there is no nearby wildfire.

We hope we are wrong. We doubt we are wrong.

As much as the 2024 Legislature was a success, it was not so much of a success for a better state response to wildfire.

Not all wildfires can be prevented. Not all wildfires should be prevented. There’s federal land, private land and state land and a mix of responsibilities.

What is the Oregon strategy? Who pays?

The state does have a plan. It does sound good. The plan is to have fire-adapted communities. The plan is to have resilient landscapes. The plan is to have safe and effective wildfire responses.

Prioritization must be to keep people from harm. Protect drinking water. Protect the electrical grid.

But even defining the areas of highest risk in Oregon proved difficult for the state to get done in a satisfactory way. And what report after report of the state’s Wildfire Programs Advisory Council has identified are funding gaps to do all the things.

When the Legislature met this year, there were discussions of options for funding. None of them passed.

No solution passed to increasing landowner fees for wildfire protection. There was division over whether private landowners should pay more or all Oregonians should pay more. Proposed ballot measures to ask voters for support on these sorts of questions died.

And when the session ended, Oregon wildfire preparation was just about where it began.

There is work getting done, but wildfire is still winning.