Following a record-breaking fire season in Oregon, the State Fire Marshal is extending its incentive program, helping homeowners pay for defensible space projects in more communities in Oregon.
Through the program, home and property owners in qualifying vulnerable communities may be eligible to receive a $250 payment following a defensible space assessment by OSFM or a participating fire agency.
Creating defensible space refers to managing the area around a home or building to keep embers from having a place to land and catch fire. This can include anything from limbing trees to purchasing plants that are resistant to ember attacks when a wildfire is nearby. According to Alison Green, the coordinator for the defensible space program, 90% of homes are lost to embers during a wildland fire event.
Defensible space incentives give more Oregonians a chance to be proactive in reducing the impact of wildfires on their property, as money can often be a barrier to these projects.
“On the heels of a record-breaking wildfire season, we know that now is the time to prepare our homes for next season,” read a statement from State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple. “We strongly encourage home and property owners to schedule an assessment. Taking this first step can make a significant difference in protecting your home and neighborhood from wildfire risks.”
According to Green, OSFM started the program offering incentives for 50 eligible communities. This year, the program has extended its footprint to communities that have been within three miles of a wildland fire and those that are vulnerable to wildfire.
In addition to making more communities eligible for incentives, OSFM also added a three-mile buffer around the originally qualifying communities to expand the footprint. The updated list of eligible communities includes several cities in Central Oregon, such as Prineville, La Pine, Madras, Redmond and Warm Springs.
Homeowners have used these incentives in numerous ways, according to Green. After receiving recommendations on how to strengthen defensible space for a home or building, some people have used the $250 for gravel around structures, adding a non-combustible barrier to their yard. Others have used it to buy fire-resistant plants or equipment to help with lawn maintenance, such as a battery-powered chainsaw to limb up trees.
Since OSFM rolled out the program in June 2023, independent fire districts have provided 404 assessments across Central Oregon. OSFM has provided 166 assessments in Central Oregon.
“One big thing that we definitely find is that defensible space is a process. Sometimes all of the recommendations all at once can be super overwhelming for folks,” Green told the Source Weekly.
“Getting those tailored recommendations for your property can really help you break it down into bite-sized pieces. Even with the snow coming, even with the winter coming… this is the time to do some of that work,” she said. “[Homeowners] really want that kind of tailored, one-on-one walkthrough with a fire service professional. It is free for them, and it can really help them build out a plan to make sure they’re ready for fire season 2025.”
To schedule an assessment, visit the Oregon Defensible Space website and find your home on the map.
This article appears in The Source Weekly December 5, 2024.
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Here we go. Throwing more money at a problem without understanding the well understood source of these problems. Fires close to communities are most often started by our “homeless” community. These people are “camping” illegally. Throw money at enforcing the law!!
A big problem requiring lots of solutions. Spend money on homelessness:drug rehab programs (almost non-existent) and housing (why this costs $325-450K/unit escapes me). Serious, widespread fuel reduction in forests, over objections of enviros who think the way forests look today is how they always did and always should, look and objections of folks who’d prefer mega fires over inconvenience of smoke from planned burning. AND Defensible space. AND fire – resistant building features, like no open eaves, wood siding, etc.