Looking to move here in the future, but concerned about wildfires (Medford: neighborhoods, roofing)

[Ruth4Truth]

OP, I don't understand your comment about the Bay Area climate "sucks". Could you explain? What part of the BA are you living in? One reason people come to coastal CA and put up with the high COL is because of the temperate climate. So, I"m mystified.

CO had wildfires this summer,. Photos of fires outside of Denver were around the internet. CO also has growing water scarcity issues, along with other parts of the West/Southwest. They're managing so far, but as you get older, the problem will increase in severity. You have a long lifetime ahead of you.

So, you were considering Oregon, but what did you have in mind for employment? Were you hoping you could work remotely, or were you looking at potential tech jobs....where: Portland, or one of the university towns, or ...?


I've been looking at a few areas on the West Coast to relocate to, myself. I'm wondering what OR residents on the forum think about the coastal towns. Is the coastal strip less prone to fires? I notice that the air quality out there in most cases is much better than along the I-5 corridor and elsewhere around central Oregon, and the temps are generally cooler out there in the summers, I imagine. I'm open to any location suggestions and general info on QOL, climate, etc. Would Tillamook be a good choice? This inquiry is with semi-retirement in mind.

Thanks, all.

[Larry Caldwell]

The coast is generally wet enough that it doesn't burn easily, though there are exceptions. There was a big one outside Brookings a couple years ago that caused a lot of evacuations.

The coast has other problems, like wind and floods.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

The coast is generally wet enough that it doesn't burn easily, though there are exceptions. There was a big one outside Brookings a couple years ago that caused a lot of evacuations.

The coast has other problems, like wind and floods.

Wind. I hate strong wind! And floods? What's the cause?

Someone messaged me, that salt air is corrosive, and that most of those towns don't have quality health care. Does that mean people have to drive inland for x-rays, ultrasounds and the like, or is it that high-level trauma centers are all in the I-5 corridor?

Do those towns have a life? lol. Is there much to do there? I guess none of them has a college (I enjoy university lectures and classes). Do any of them have an artsy, creative center, a local museum, any focal point for a social life?

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Wind. I hate strong wind! And floods? What's the cause?

The Oregon Coast is awkwardly close to the Pacific Ocean, which has a lot of water and not much to slow the wind down. Winter storms reliably bring 70 mph winds, a standing joke is, "If your grandmother can drive 65 mph through an 85 mph southwester without blinking, you are from the Oregon Coast." 25 mph to 35 mph wind on the beach is a normal day.

It's not so much that the salt is corrosive as the wind sandblasts buildings. You will have to paint often. The windward side of a building needs to be sealed like a boat cabin.

Floods are normally caused by a "Pineapple Express," an atmospheric river starting in the South Pacific that carries about as much water as the Mississippi. When it hits the coast, things get wet.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by simply1

Yeah that article all sounded normal. Did you read it?

I thought you said there wasn't any tree damage. Did you drive to check the damages out in person, or we're supposed to rely on your expert opinion based on photos.

Yes, I read the article. It's seems pretty normal to me. I'm sure some damaged trees will have to be cut down. I see ODOT crews cutting down trees even when there is no fire. It's normal.

Answer me this, why is Highway 99 still closed due to "A wildfire is in the area.", when that fire has been out for a week now?

[Metlakatla]

Too windy here. Blew down my greenhouse even though my place is pretty much surrounded by thick vegetation and redwoods.

It's been so dry the last couple of years that it wouldn't take much for the central Oregon coast to go up in flames.

Do those towns have a life? lol. Is there much to do there? I guess none of them has a college (I enjoy university lectures and classes). Do any of them have an artsy, creative center, a local museum, any focal point for a social life?

Of course they do. It wasn't tough at all pre-pandemic/apocalypse to find things to "do." The coast has always attracted an artistic element, and it shows in the communities. The Newport Symphony Orchestra is just one example.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Too windy here. Blew down my greenhouse even though my place is pretty much surrounded by thick vegetation and redwoods.

It's been so dry the last couple of years that it wouldn't take much for the central Oregon coast to go up in flames.



Of course they do. It wasn't tough at all pre-pandemic/apocalypse to find things to "do." The coast has always attracted an artistic element, and it shows in the communities. The Newport Symphony Orchestra is just one example.

Thanks. Sounds nice. RE: Central OR coast being dry: no Pineapple Express the last couple of years? Or is its matter of summers getting drier and the "dry season"--longer, as in the Seattle area?

The entire North Pacific Coast is getting much drier. A friend told me, that the cedar forests on the British Columbia coast all the way north are stressed.

[Larry Caldwell]

Global warming is pushing the dry California climate north. It's moved about 500 miles in the last 50 years, call it 10 miles a year.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Thanks. Sounds nice. RE: Central OR coast being dry: no Pineapple Express the last couple of years? Or is its matter of summers getting drier and the "dry season"--longer, as in the Seattle area?

The entire North Pacific Coast is getting much drier. A friend told me, that the cedar forests on the British Columbia coast all the way north are stressed.

Pineapple expresses are mostly late fall/winter events. But yes, the summers are drier and dry season is longer.

Southeast Alaska, on the other hand, experienced one of its wettest summers on record.

[SusVelo]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Yes, I read the article. It's seems pretty normal to me. I'm sure some damaged trees will have to be cut down. I see ODOT crews cutting down trees even when there is no fire. It's normal.

Answer me this, why is Highway 99 still closed due to "A wildfire is in the area.", when that fire has been out for a week now?

So you flat out don't believe ODOT?

“It’s fair to say this is a whole new level of damage,” Katherine Benenati, a transportation department spokesperson, said in an email. “These are some of the most hazardous conditions and some of the most widespread damage we’ve seen in years.”