{"id":1442,"date":"2019-05-13T13:49:12","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T20:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brooksresources.com\/?p=1442"},"modified":"2019-05-13T13:51:04","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T20:51:04","slug":"part-prepare-live-wildland-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brooksresources.com\/2019\/05\/part-prepare-live-wildland-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing Our Part to Prepare for and Live with Wildland Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"
I recently attended a workshop designe<\/span>d to\u00a0<\/span>discuss the preparedness of Central Oregon for a wildland fire disaster.\u00a0 The big question for the workshop was, \u201cCan Central Oregon become another Paradise?\u201d, referring to the tragedy in Paradise, CA last year from the Camp Fire.\u00a0 Before I attended the workshop, I\u00a0<\/span>thought\u00a0<\/span>that Bend would never see a tragedy like Paradise, due to our different topography and surrounding landscape.\u00a0 I was wrong.\u00a0 The fire professionals who volunteered their time to speak at the workshop and produce a fire modeling simulation of large, catastrophic fire in Central Oregon proved to me and\u00a0<\/span>my fellow\u00a0<\/span>attendees, that yes, a horrific disaster like the Camp Fire can happen in Central Oregon.\u00a0 And it is not a matter of \u201cif\u201d this happens, it is a matter of \u201cwhen.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Wildfire is the single largest natural disaster threat to us in Central Oregon.\u00a0 We live in a landscape that is susceptible to wildland fire, primarily starting from lightning strikes, but also from humans.\u00a0 A wildfire threat to Bend may not be imminent, but it is inevitable.\u00a0 As we have seen most recently in the past 30 years, the Awbrey Hall Fire, the Skeleton Fire, the Two Bulls Fire,\u00a0<\/span>have all impacted forest lands and residential communities in and around Bend.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of the consistent messages presented at the workshop by survivors of the Washington fires from 2016, the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa in 2017, the Thomas fire in Santa Barbara, and the Camp Fire in Paradise, was \u201cdon\u2019t think that this can\u2019t happen to your community \u2013 it can!\u201d\u00a0 I feel extremely confident with the emergency responders in our area and have seen over the years the collaboration and efforts the different agencies and organizations have made to work together so that when a fire occurs there is cohesion and cooperation in how resources are deployed and utilized.\u00a0 We will be in good hands when the fire strikes.\u00a0 But we must take responsibility ourselves to help protect not only our families, pets, neighbors and friends, but also our fire professionals who are risking their lives to help evacuate and protect us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are a few tips that I\u2019d like to share with you that are easy to apply to your personal situation so that in the case of a wildland fire in or around Bend,\u00a0<\/span>you can be prepared and learn how to live with\u00a0<\/span>this risk<\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These are just a few ideas and resources that we can\u00a0<\/span>consider and use to help prepare\u00a0<\/span>and defend\u00a0<\/span>our properties\u00a0<\/span>from a fire and prepare our families for an evacuation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>I encourage everyone to read through these websites and learn as much as you can about how to\u00a0<\/span>successfully live in a\u00a0<\/span>fire-adapted community.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>And\u00a0<\/span>if you live in a community with design guidelines and an owners<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0association, be sure\u00a0<\/span>any steps you take are<\/span>\u00a0compliant with your guidelines and rules and regulations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>www.projectwildfire.org<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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\nAbout the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n