Collier Community Comes Together to Strengthen Wildfire Readiness and Neighborhood Resilience

Pahlisch Homes is proud to recognize the homeowners of Collier for coming together in a powerful display of community care, wildfire awareness, and neighborly action during a recent Firewise cleanup event.

What began as a practical effort to reduce fire fuel in common areas became something much more meaningful. It became a reminder that strong communities are not only built with homes, streets, trails, and open spaces. They are built by people who are willing to show up, roll up their sleeves, and take ownership in protecting the place they call home.

The cleanup event brought together 21 Collier homeowners, along with one dog and one very committed sick baby, to help remove debris, clear common areas, and support the community’s ongoing wildfire preparedness efforts. The event was made possible in part because Collier qualified for a Deschutes County dumpster grant, an effort coordinated by homeowner Michelle Briggs, who worked with the county and applied for the grant on behalf of the community.

“Michelle’s leadership and the response from Collier homeowners is exactly what community is supposed to look like,” said Ana Bozich, Community Planning Director for Pahlisch Homes. “This was homeowners seeing a need, stepping forward, and working together to make their neighborhood safer, cleaner, and more prepared. That kind of ownership is what makes a community stronger long after the homes are built.”

The cleanup focused on common areas within Collier where debris, brush, pine needles, and other natural materials had accumulated over time. Volunteers cleared areas near fencing, pathways, and shared spaces. Before and after photos from the event show a visible transformation, with overgrown and debris filled areas opened up and cleaned in a way that improves both the appearance and defensible space of the neighborhood. The effort also produced enough material to fill two dumpsters with organic debris, highlighting both the scale of the work completed and the importance of regular wildfire mitigation in Central Oregon communities.

Beyond the immediate cleanup, the volunteer hours from the event also contribute toward Collier’s Firewise recognition. Firewise efforts help demonstrate a community’s commitment to wildfire preparedness, may support eligibility for certain resources or grants, and can sometimes help homeowners with insurance related considerations depending on their provider. Most importantly, this work helps create a safer and more prepared neighborhood for everyone.

“Wildfire preparedness is becoming more important for every Central Oregon community,” said Melissa Steele, Deputy Fire Marshal for the City of Bend. “Events like this show how meaningful it can be when residents take action together. Reducing combustible materials, improving defensible space, andmaintaining common areas are practical steps that help lower risk and build a stronger culture of preparedness. We need more communities to see this as shared responsibility, because wildfire resilience works best when neighbors, associations, builders, and local agencies are all working together.”

Pahlisch Homes and the Collier Owners’ Association are also continuing to evaluate additional wildfire mitigation efforts within the community’s common areas. The association is working with Newport Ave Landscaping to determine how to best allocate a $5,000 budget toward fire mitigation work. Current evaluation areas are limited to the first five feet from fences adjacent to common areas, with an emphasis on reducing fire fuel and improving defensible space. No Ponderosa Pines will be removed as part of the current common area mitigation efforts.

In addition, GRO Landscaping is scheduled to begin front yard landscape updates to bring original installations into compliance with the community’s fire mitigation related CC&Rs. Planned updates include replacing bark located within five feet of homes with gravel, removing plants that are not included on the Oregon State University Fire Resistant Plant List, replacing certain shrubs and grasses with more fire-resistant varieties, and adjusting irrigation as needed.

“Wildfire preparedness in Central Oregon works best when it becomes part of the culture of a community,” said Jason Myhre, Chief Communications Officer for Pahlisch Homes. “Builders, homeowners, associations, local agencies, and neighbors all play an important role. What happened at Collier is a great example of that partnership in action. Homeowners came together, the association helped support the effort, and the result was a stronger, cleaner, more prepared community.”

For Pahlisch Homes, the Collier cleanup reflects a larger commitment to building communities that are not only beautiful, but prepared, connected, and resilient.

“Building community means more than building homes,” said Myhre. “It means helping create places where people feel connected to one another and invested in the long-term care of the neighborhood. Collier showed what that looks like in a very real way. This was not just a cleanup effort. It was a community taking pride in the place they call home.”

This story is based on submitted information and has not been verified by our news team.