Lane Fire Authority Closes Southernmost Station 108 on Lorane Highway

Lane Fire Authority announced the immediate closure of Station 108 on Lorane Highway after saying it was “unable to secure ownership of the Station 108 property or support operations at that location,” writing in a social‑media post that “our ability to maintain facilities and staffing is directly tied to available budget capacity.” The district said other stations will cover the area previously served by Station 108, which it identified as its southernmost station.

The district serves a 282‑square‑mile area of central‑western Lane County and leases the Station 108 site from an independent owner who decided to sell, KVAL and Register‑Guard reporting show. Station 107, at the intersection of MacBeth and Fox Hollow roads, is about 5 miles from the closed Lorane Highway site and was named by the authority as one of the stations that will provide coverage after the closure announced effective immediately and reported March 3, 2026.

Budget pressure is threaded through LFA’s explanation and local reporting. Register‑Guard reported LFA sought voter approval last fall to renew an operations levy that expires June 30 but the measure failed, and that the district plans a new levy in May for 55 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, a 20 cent per $1,000 increase over the expiring tax. Register‑Guard also reported that the authority cut one of its three ambulances last month as the district has adjusted services and budgets since the levy’s failure.

Assistant Fire Chief Rose Douglass told KVAL the closure also reflected staffing realities and program value assessments, saying, “We are looking at evaluating several of our stations that are maybe don't have volunteers out of them. We're going to be doing that cost‑benefit analysis on all of our stations to determine are we using the resources the public has given us in the best way possible and determine whether it makes sense to keep those open or to have to shut those down as well.” Douglass added, “We were not able to staff it. We did keep it operating. We were able to operate it at a pretty low cost and it served to store backup apparatus. as well as a strategic location for suppression apparatus should we have staff in the area,” and KVAL reported the agency’s position that “The decision to close the station was not related to the operations levy that failed to pass in November, and is up for a vote again in May, according to LFA.”

LFA reiterated its service pledge in the social‑media post, writing, “The closure of Station 108 does not change our commitment to serving the community.” With the Lorane Highway station shuttered and one ambulance already removed from service last month, the district faces a compressed timeline: the current levy expires June 30, and LFA will ask voters in May to approve the new 55 cent per $1,000 measure that officials say is needed to stabilize facilities and staffing. Assistant Chief Douglass signaled the authority may evaluate additional stations that lack volunteers or on‑site staffing as it balances strategic location, volunteer availability, and budget realities.