With the shadow of wildfire season looming over the Pacific Northwest, Oregon's State Fire Marshal is getting the jump on safety. This Wildfire Awareness Month, residents are being urged to arm their homes against nature's blaze by establishing what's known as defensible space. To aid in the fight against wildfires, the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office (OSFM) has rolled out free defensible space assessments and even some financial incentives, in the form of a $250 payment, for those in certain high-risk areas who step up their fire-prevention game, the office said.
"Creating defensible space might feel overwhelming but taking it one project at a time can go a long way in protecting your home," Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple noted, signaling that the time to prep is now before summer's swelter takes hold. Homeowners are advised to undertake a myriad of tasks ranging from spacing and pruning trees to removing yard debris and keeping lumber piles a safe distance from structures. Doable projects, including the cleaning of roofs and gutters from flammable waste, and moving any potential fuel away from the home's exterior, are essential steps that could make a monumental difference in the face of encroaching flames.
In an effort to simplify the process, the OSFM website offers a comprehensive checklist on how to build this life and property-saving buffer zone. Recommended measures include keeping flammable materials, like mulch and dead leaves, at bay from a home's exterior and ensuring that no plants grow directly under the delicate eaves. Oregonians are nudged to keep firewood and lumber at least 30 feet away from any building and to clear out the old growth to reduce a fire's potential fodder.
With debris inevitably piling up from these protective measures, the marshal's office suggests environmentally friendly disposal methods such as chipping, composting, or recycling over the more risky practice of burning, "Escaped debris burns are the number one cause of human-sparked fires in Oregon," the OSFM cautions. For those who have no other option but to burn their debris, strict adherence to local burning regulations and the exercise of extreme caution are crucial.
