The Holiday Farm Fire removed all trace of fences and other unofficial landmarks commonly used to mark property boundaries. This means most, if not all, property owners will need to have their property boundaries formally surveyed before rebuilding.

A retracement survey in “downtown” Blue River was completed in late 2023.

Public Land Survey System Monuments

Lane County survey crews inspected the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) monuments surrounding the immediate Blue River area and ensured they were secure and accurate and could be used for surveying purposes.  These monuments mostly consist of section corners, quarter-section corners, and one-sixteenth corners, and were vital to the retracement of property boundary lines in the immediate area.

Consolidated Property Boundary Retracement Survey

Many of the lots in Blue River are relatively small and property owners often need every inch of available space, magnifying the importance of accurate survey results that align with one another. Replacement of drinking water infrastructure and the anticipated development of a collective wastewater treatment system in Blue River triggered the need to survey the many road and utility rights of way in Blue River to facilitate accurate placement of pipes.

Residents and property owners were not charged for this surveying work.

Other fire-affected areas

Funding is available to help pay for or reimburse eligible property owners for property surveys on properties where the primary residence was damaged or destroyed by the Holiday Farm Fire. 

The McKenzie Valley Long Term Recovery Group (LTRG) is managing the application process and distributing the funding. The funds were provided by Lane County.

Learn more about the eligibility requirements and the application process at www.McKenzieValleyLTRG.org/property-surveying. Help is also available from the LTRG; contact shelly@mckenzievalleyltrg.org or maryellen@mckenzievalleyltrg.org.