Do you know what it takes to survive wildfire?
Southwest Oregon at risk
In the fire-adapted ecosystems of Southwest Oregon, it is not a matter of “if” wildfire is going to occur, but “when.” Unfortunately, many residents living in Josephine and Jackson counties and beyond are not prepared for wildfire. Neither are their homes.
Faced with the growing potential for loss of human life and property due to wildfire, southwest Oregon’s firefighting agencies and Oregon State University’s Cooperative Extension have come together to promote an integrated approach, melding Firewise Community concepts of on-the-ground fuels management with the larger community interaction and landscape-wide fire resilience in a Fire-Adapted Community concept. They believe this is the best opportunity to decrease the wildfire threat.
When a wildfire is threatening your community, the time to prepare has passed. However, there are steps that homeowners can take to improve personal safety and home survival before a wildfire occurs. The purpose of this publication is to promote and teach these steps. Once implemented at the neighborhood level, these recommendations will assist communities in becoming fire-adapted.
What are Firewise and Fire-Adapted Communities?
Living in fire-prone Southwest Oregon means your home is at risk of being caught in a wildfire. Firewise and Fire-Adapted Communities offer effective preparedness steps to help every level of the community survive a fire; from homes and neighborhoods to the larger landscape. Read more below and take action.
“Homes properly prepared are exponentially better protected when neighbors proactively develop and maintain defensive strategies as a community. These efforts increase the effectiveness and efficiency of limited fire resources.”
— Lang Johnson, Deputy Chief, Grants Pass Fire/Rescue
Firewise Communities/USA Program
This program provides a flexible template for residents of neighborhoods and homeowners associations to improve their wildfire readiness. Firewise communities develop action plans that guide their residential risk reduction while engaging and encouraging neighbors to become active participants in making their homes and properties more resistant to fire. The five steps to becoming a Firewise Community are:
- Obtain a wildfire risk assessment as a written document from your state forestry agency or fire department
- Form a board or committee, and create an action plan based on the assessment
- Conduct a “Firewise Day” outreach and educational event
- Invest a minimum of $2 per capita in local Firewise actions for the year.
- Submit an application to your state Firewise liaison
Fire-Adapted Communities
A fire-adapted community is a living concept, not a program. A fire-adapted community accepts the risk of wildfire and works towards being more resilient when an event occurs. A fire-adapted community takes a larger look at the landscape and what it means to be prepared for fire within and beyond its own neighborhood. This means that all players in the community are responsible, including homeowners, fire departments, businesses, local government and schools. Fire-adapted communities may:
- Develop a Community Wildfire Protection Plan
- Become a nationally recognized Firewise community
- Be prepared for an evacuation and understand the Ready, Be Set, GO! program
- Adopt building codes that address fire-resistant building materials and landscape vegetation
- Create healthy forests and watershed resiliency
Contact your local fire department to get involved or visit the Firewise and FireAdapted websites.
The elements of a fire-adapted community
Healthy forests/land management
Landscapes are managed to reduce the threat of wildland fires and their spread into communities. Landowners and land managers (public and private) understand wildfire risk and implement management practices to reduce risks in all forests and wildland areas.
Internal safety zones
Neighbors work with neighbors to reduce ignition risks around their homes and communities, is in the Firewise Communities/USA Program. There is a commitment to maintain defensible space and cleared home ignition zones.
Government participation
Local government officials are engaged in wildfire issues, providing leadership, supporting community preparedness and participating in preparation of local Community Wildfire Protection Plans. Fire-resistant building codes are adopted and enforced. Ordinances on vegetation management, community protection zones and land development are adopted and enforced.
Home preparedness
Developers and builders design homes using fire-resistant building materials and landscaping. Families develop an evacuation plan including contingencies for animals and people with access and functional needs. A Be Ready, Be Set, GO! program is implemented.
Collaborative partnerships
Community members, organizations and agencies all work together to identify wildfire risks and assume the responsibility for risk mitigation. Partners work jointly to reduce community wildfire risks, promote public outreach and education programs, and utilize the limited available funding sources.
Fire department planning
Fire departments and all first responders are well prepared for wildland fire scenarios through training and community risk assessments. Fire departments participate in emergency preparations, including Community Wildfire Protection Plans.
See the Rogue Valley Integrated Fire Plan.
Fire is natural to Southwest Oregon’s environment
Fire has been a natural part of Southwest Oregon’s environment for thousands of years. Prior to the late 1800s, fires occurred very frequently in the region’s mixed conifer and hardwood forests, ignited both by dry lightning storms and by Native Americans who used fire as a landscape management tool.
Researchers have determined that fire visited some low-elevation forests and woodlands as often as every five to 10 years. Even many remote, higher-elevation sites evidently experienced fire once every decade or two. This abundance of fire resulted in forests that were not only adapted to frequent fire, but dependent on it.
Most of these historic fires were of low or “mixed” severity. Low-severity fires tended to meander across the ground, burning grass, shrubs and small trees while scorching the bases of but not killing larger trees, especially thick-barked species such as ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir that are well adapted to fire. These fires thinned out the woods while reducing the buildup of deep layers of needles, leaves and twigs. Mixed-severity fires burned at a range of intensity and severity, from low to high, where patches of trees were killed.
The forests that resulted from these frequent low-, and mixed-severity fires were diverse and patchy. For example, relatively open forests on south slopes and ridges were interspersed with denser forest patches on north slopes and streamside areas. However, on average, tree densities were much lower compared to today, and there were many more openings in the forest canopy. Forests were dominated by large, drought- and fire-resistant species and contained a mix of tree ages and sizes. These forests were very resilient to fire. They supported a rich assemblage of plant and animal species.
Unfortunately, Southwest Oregon’s forests are now at risk.
Southwest Oregon’s forest timeline
Historic forest
Prior to the early 1900s, low-intensity wildfires burned routinely throughout forests of Southwest Oregon. These fires often created an open, patchy forest with a greater percentage of large, fire-resistant mature trees. This image depicts a mature, open, mixed-conifer forest today, which is one of the many forest types of Southwest Oregon. This gives us a good impression of what these forests looked like prior to European-American settlement.
Logging era
Some of the earliest documented cases of small-scale logging in Southwest Oregon occurred in the late 1880s. Throughout the 1800s and early 1900s, private mills processed tens of thousands of board feet daily. As an example, one mill run by Chandler and Morris was capable of producing 20,000, board feet per day in 1889. Many hillsides near towns were logged off. The Logging Era photo demonstrates the labor-intensive work that was involved in early logging history in Southwest Oregon. By the mid 1900s, logging was a dominant industry in the region with large lumber companies like Alley Bros., KOGAP, Boise/Elk and Medco.
Fire suppression era
Active fire suppression began in the 1920s in southern Oregon and increased in effectiveness over time. Since 1920, more than 5,000 lightning-ignited fires have been put out on federal (BLM and Forest Service) lands in the region. The average size of these fires was 15 acres, and fewer than one in 10 exceeded 1,000 acres. Fire suppression saved forests and infrastructure from burning up — but also led to unnaturally high tree densities and a buildup of fuels.
Southwest Oregon’s forests today
Decades of fire exclusion, harvest of many large, fire-resistant trees and development of homes in wildland areas have resulted in forests that are extremely fire-prone and less healthy. Important changes that have been documented over the past century include:
- A dramatic increase in tree densities. For example, forests in the Ashland watershed that contained 50 trees per acre a century ago now have 150 or more trees per acre, mostly small to medium-sized trees that are crowding out large legacy trees.
- Species composition has shifted away from fire-resistant species like ponderosa pine to less fire-tolerant trees such as white fir. Forest openings have closed in; forests as a whole have become less patchy and more uniform.
- Trees in overly dense forests have become stressed and more susceptible to insect damage, especially during drought periods. In southwest Oregon, as throughout the western United States, there is a trend toward larger fires, burning at higher intensities, with more severe effects compared to past fires.
- The climate is trending towards hotter, drier summers and a longer fire season overall.
- The presence of many homes in forests of the wildland-urban interface complicates firefighting efforts and increases suppression costs.
While a certain amount of high-intensity fire could be considered natural and even beneficial from a strictly ecological standpoint, the increase in fire size and severity poses risks to homes, properties and lives. High-intensity wildfire kills large trees and damages or even destroys wildlife habitat, including old-growth forests. And when fire burns hot, it can destroy the protective layers in the soil, resulting in widespread erosion and runoff, which damages streams, fisheries and water supplies.
Complicating the issue are the numerous and diverse forestland ownerships throughout Southwest Oregon, particularly in Jackson and Josephine counties.
Public and private forests across the region are in a checkerboard pattern, making forest management on a landscape scale difficult to accomplish. Two-thirds of homes in fire-prone areas are within half of a mile of public lands. In Southwest Oregon, the risk of wildfire spread from public lands is the highest in the western U.S. Individual landowners may manage their land well, but the danger of catastrophic fire is still high if neighboring forests are not also managed.
The risks are high, but much can be done to make Southern Oregon’s forests less fire prone and more resilient. Thinning, focusing on removal of smaller diameter trees and followed by slash disposal, can increase resistance to wildfire and dramatically improve tree vigor and health.
Controlled burning, especially following thinning and fuels-reduction activities, is a very cost-effective way of reducing fuel loads and maintaining forests in a fire-resistant condition.
Given Southwest Oregon’s current conditions, homes and lives are at risk.
Fuelbreak
A fuelbreak (Figure 1a) is a strip of land where highly flammable vegetation is modified to reduce the wildfire threat. Fuelbreaks change fire behavior by slowing it down, reducing the length of flames and preventing the fire from reaching tree canopies.
Fuelbreaks can improve the success of fire retardant dropped from the air, provide a safer area for firefighters to operate, and allow for easier creation of firelines (a strip of bare ground established during a wildfire). A shaded fuelbreak is created on forested lands when trees are thinned, tree canopies are raised by removing lower branches, and the understory vegetation is managed to reduce the fire threat. Community fuelbreaks are particularly effective when integrated with the defensible space of adjacent homes. They can be manmade or naturally occurring (rock outcrops, rivers and meadows).
Safe area or safety zone
A safe area (Figure 1b) is a designated location within a community where people can go to wait out the wildfire. Often, ballparks, golf courses, parks and parking lots can serve as safe areas.
Prescribed fire
In some areas of Southwest Oregon, typically on public lands, prescribed fire is used by agencies to reduce wildfire fuels near homes. Prescribed fire is the intentional use of fire to manage vegetation. A prescribed fire project is well planned and carefully orchestrated — and involves the disciplines of fire ecology, fire suppression, forestry and public safety. The important parts of a prescribed fire project are:
- Training: Personnel have received extensive training and have been certified in prescribed fire management and implementation.
- Preburn activities: Each winter a multidisciplinary team develops the “Burn Plan” for the upcoming fall burn season. During the summer months, work crews start preparing the burn sites by creating firebreaks, clearing around high-value trees and thinning dense pockets of brush.
- Burn day: The specific date of a proposed fire cannot be determined very far in advance. A “Go/No-go Checklist” is used to decide if a prescribed fire can be safely and effectively conducted. If the necessary conditions are not optimal, the fire will be postponed until conditions “come into prescription.” The prescribed fire illustration portrays a typical prescribed fire.
- Tending the burn: Prescribed fires are managed to minimize smoke production and maximize fuel consumption. Personnel closely monitor the site until the project is completed.
Emergency access
Turnarounds
Homes located at the end of long driveways or dead-end roads should have turnaround areas (Figure 2a) suitable for large fire equipment. Turnarounds can be a cul-de-sac with at least a 45-foot radius or a location suitable for a three-point turn. Contact your local fire agency for specific turnaround requirements.
Road width and grade
Roads (Figure 2b) should be at least 20 feet wide and long driveways should be at least 12 feet wide with a steepness grade of less than 12%.
Address
The home address (Figure 2c) should be readily visible from the street. The address sign should be made of reflective, noncombustible material with characters at least 4 inches high. With multiple homes, use reflective directional arrows to ensure that responders can quickly find your home.
Gated driveways
Electronically operated driveway gates (Figure 2c) require key access for local fire departments and districts. They may require a permit and have additional requirements. Contact your local fire agency prior to installing a gated driveway. Rural, wire gates should have multiple locks for access by fire and medical responders and landowners.
Driveway clearance
Remove flammable vegetation extending at least 10 feet from both sides of the driveway (Figure 2d). Overhead obstructions (overhanging branches and power lines) should be removed or raised to provide at least a13.5-foot vertical clearance.
Secondary road
When communities only have one way in and out, evacuation of residents while emergency responders are arriving can result in traffic congestion and potentially dangerous driving conditions. A second access road (figure 2e), even one only used for emergency purposes, can improve traffic flow during a wildfire and provide an alternate escape route.
Turnouts
Homes located at the end of long, narrow streets and dead ends can deter firefighters and complicate evacuation. If possible, create turnouts (Figure 2f) in the driveway and access roads that will allow two-way traffic.
Bridges and culverts
Inadequately built bridges (not capable of safely allowing a loaded fire engine or other heavy machinery) and culverts (Figure 2g) may prevent firefighting equipment from reaching your home. Do not use plastic culverts. Ask your local fire marshal about proper bridge and culvert design for your area.
Street signs
Street signs (Figure 2h) should be posted at each intersection leading to your home. Each sign should feature characters that are at least 4 inches high and should be made of reflective, noncombustible material.
Contact your local fire district to learn about district-specific fire preparedness plans. See "fire district contact information."
The Home Ignition Zone
Over 90% of homes that burn do so because of flying embers, not from the main front of a wildfire. Embers can travel up to a mile ahead of an advancing wildfire. If they land in leaves in a roof gutter or on a patio chair pad, they can quickly ignite and spread to the rest of the home. The photo on the right shows a house from Colorado's 2002 Missionary Ridge Fire. Fine fuels on the ground ignited from flying embers and spread to the deck and then the house, although the forest is not burning.
Like the forests and plants around it, your home is fuel for a wildfire. Studies by the U.S. Forest Service and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety have shown that a clean Home Ignition Zone can be just as important as a defensible space in regard to a home's survival.
The Home Ignition Zone, or HIZ, is defined as the home and its immediate surroundings, out to a distance of 100–200 feet. A careful analysis of your home and property will consider its ignitability based on fuels identified and their adjacency to each other.
How your home is constructed, including site location, design and building materials, helps determine whether your home will survive a wildfire. In addition, what is located near the home, periodic maintenance, annual clean-up and vegetation thinning done around the homesite also affect the ignitability. Because radiant heat is a big factor in the spread of a fire, potential fuels need to be separated by at least 30 feet. This all ultimately defines your HIZ.
Fire requires three ingredients — fuel, heat and oxygen. Without any one of these elements, fire will not occur. While it is difficult to remove heat or oxygen to stop the progress of a wildfire, we can remove continuous lines of fuel. This can reduce your home’s ignition potential from embers and increase your home’s likelihood of survival.
The Home Ignition Zone is composed of five simple zones. Within each zone there are several checklist items that homeowners can and should address before fire season to help protect their home from wildfire.
Overall landscape
Evaluate:
- Your home's surroundings and proximity to other homes or buildings
- Topography: slope, aspect, elevation, weather
- Vegetation types and proximity, fuel breaks
Other considerations:
- Outbuildings (Figure 3a) including woodsheds within 30 feet of your house become a part of your Home Ignition Zone. Consider them another fuel.
- Is flammable vegetation (Figure 3b) thinned the first 30 feet from the home?
- Be aware of your surroundings. Southern exposures and prevailing winds cause vegetation to dry out more quickly.
- A water source (Figure 3c) near to your home and accessible by firefighters can be invaluable during a wildfire.
- Create fuel breaks (Figure 3d) by thinning surrounding forest areas to help slow down the spread of wildfire and give firefighters a defendable area.
- Fire spreads quickly going up a slope. Recognize where your home sits on the slope to get an idea of how a wildfire might travel.
- Be aware of the proximity of other houses. They should be considered as fuel.
Chimney to eaves
Evaluate:
- Roofing materials and assembly
- Condition of roofing
- Roof litter and gutters
- Skylights, chimneys and stovepipes
Other considerations:
- Check your roof annually (Figure 4a) to make sure the tiles or shingles are in good condition — flat, no tears and no gaps under tiles.
- Check your roof line (Figure 4b) annually for overhanging tree branches.
- Are the roof and gutters (Figure 4c) non-combustible? Keep them clean all year long.
- Litter in gutters or roof valleys (Figure 4d), and bird or rodent nests under tiles on the roof are common causes of embers igniting a house.
- Check chimneys for flue caps and screening over the opening. Check roof turbine vents for screens.
- Keep roof skylights free of debris. If your roof is steeply pitched, consider using flat, double-paned glass instead of a domed skylight.
Eaves to foundation
Evaluate:
- Type of construction
- Siding materials
- Attic, eaves, soffit vents and crawl spaces
- Windows and screens
- Walls and attachments
Other considerations:
- Wood-product exterior siding (Figure 5a) is combustible; make sure it is in good condition. Stucco, brick, steel or cement board siding is a safer choice.
- Embers can accumulate under open eaves (Figure 5b)! Cover the underside with a soffit, box them in, or fill gaps with caulk.
- Windows (Figure 5c) are one of the weakest parts of a home in a fire, usually breaking before the house ignites. Double-paned windows with tempered glass are less likely to break. Closable, solid exterior shutters can provide extra window protection.
- All attic, eaves and foundation vents or crawl spaces (Figure 5d) should be covered with 1/8-inch or smaller wire mesh to keep embers from being blown inside. (Do not permanently cover vents!)
- Are any wall attachments such as patios, decks, porches, balconies and fencing (Figure 5e) flammable? If so, keep in good condition! Routinely remove debris such as leaves, pine needles or weeds. Keep spaces under decks clean, or consider enclosing with 1/4-inch or smaller wire mesh. Keep porches or decks free of flammables, such as baskets, dried flowers and cushion patio furniture.
Foundation to landscaped areas
Evaluate:
- Defensible space
- Landscaped (managed) vegetation
- Firewise landscaping zones
- Materials next to the home (including wood fencing)
- Propane tanks
- Vehicles and neighboring buildings
Other considerations:
- Vehicles and neighboring buildings (Figure 6a) should be a minimum of 30 feet from the home.
- Keep vehicles on a clean (nonflammable) surface (Figure 6b).
- The first 30 feet is critical (Figure 6c); keep it lean, clean and green! Use fire-resistant plants here to create defensible space.
- Create a noncombustible area (Figure 6d) at least 5 feet wide around the base of your home: rock mulch, irrigated ground cover or hard surfaces. Keep it clear of flammable brooms, door mats or cushions. Watch for combustible “paths” (such as a line of wood mulch or a wooden fence line) leading from the home. They are easily overlooked, but can lead fire right to your doorstep!
- Propane tanks should be maintained and up to National Fire Protection Association code. Small tanks should be kept at least 30 feet from the home.
Immediate landscaped area out to extent of Home Ignition Zone
Evaluate:
- Define the extent of your HIZ
- Vegetation management from 100-200 feet
Other considerations:
- Reassess the extent of your “home ignition zone.” Consider whether outbuildings or adjacent homes will increase your HIZ to include them (such as in a trailer court or maybe a cul-de-sac).
- Finally, reassess the vegetation in your HIZ — if the boundary has moved out, you will need to thin natural vegetation even further for better protection from a wildfire, sometimes as far as 200 feet. Any work needed for windy or dry aspects? Do ladder fuels need to be thinned to make outbuildings safer? Are access routes properly cleared to be a safe evacuation route? Do you need to thin trees to open the crowns so that fire doesn’t spread as easily?
Creating an effective defensible space
As a critical part of the Home Ignition Zone, defensible space plays an important role in reducing the risk of losing your home to wildfire. The Home Ignition Zone includes both the home and its immediate surroundings. The term "defensible space" refers to the area between a home and an oncoming wildfire where the vegetation has been managed to reduce the wildfire threat and allow firefighters to safely defend the home. During large wildfire events, with the likelihood of only a limited number of resources being available for home protection in many neighborhoods, defensible space can increase an individual home’s chances of surviving without firefighter intervention.
Throughout Southwest Oregon, resources are available for advising rural and urban homeowners on how to create defensible space around their homes. Local fire districts or departments and Oregon Department of Forestry fire professionals provide free home assessments to all homeowners in Southwest Oregon. They offer information on how to protect homes and properties from wildfires.
Know your distance
The size of the defensible space is usually expressed as a distance extending outward from the house in all directions. The recommended distance is not the same for every home. It varies depending on the dominant vegetation surrounding the home and the steepness of slope. Use Table 1 to determine the right space for your home. Note: If the defensible space needed around your home exceeds your property boundaries, work with your neighbors to reduce the fuel hazards on their property adjacent to your home. Wildfires do not recognize property boundaries. Implementing defensible space practices around every home improves the survivability of entire neighborhoods and works towards creating a fire-adapted community.
Flat to gently sloping 0–20% |
Moderately steep 21–40% |
Very steep +40% |
|
---|---|---|---|
Grass Dry grass and weeds |
100 feet | 100 feet | 100 feet |
Shrubs and woodland Sagebrush, manzanita and mountain mahogany |
100 feet | 200 feet | 200 feet |
Forest trees Fir and pine. If there’s a substantial shrub understory, use the values stated above. |
100 feet | 100 feet | 200 feet |
Remove the dead
Within the recommended defensible space zone, remove:
- Dead, dying and suppressed trees
- Dead native and ornamental shrubs
- Dead weeds, grasses and groundcover
- Dead branches on trees, plants and on the ground
- Debris from the roof and gutters of all structures
- Needles, leaf litter and other debris within defensible space zone.
Make it lean, clean and green
One common misconception many people have is that homes and forested areas are only ignited by flame contact from wildfires. More commonly, multiple small ignitions occur from airborne burning embers emitted by nearby fires, causing new fire starts. These “firebrands” can create spot fires on your home, within the landscaping around your home, and within forested or wildland areas near your home. To protect your home and surrounding landscapes from all facets of wildfires, keep your vegetation lean, clean and green. First, remove easily ignitable fuels or kindling around your home. Second, manage the fuels near your home to keep a fire’s intensity low.
Treating vegetation within defensible space zones and forested areas
Tree and plant spacing, arrangement, fuel type and vertical connectivity with the surface fuels greatly influences the survivability of a home and its forested surroundings during a wildfire. The principles for creating and maintaining a fire-resistant landscape are:
- Reduce understory and surface fuels.
- Prune limbs to increase the height from the surface to the base of tree crowns.
- Thin to reduce density and increase the spacing between tree crowns.
- Keep larger trees and understory plants of more fire-resistant species.
- Promote more fire-resistant forests at a landscape level (that is, your surrounding private and public neighbors) by reducing fuels both vertically and horizontally.
- More information is available from Reducing fire risk on your forest property, PNW 618.
Avoid highly flammable plants within 30 feet of your home
Ornamental conifers such as arborvitae, juniper varieties, cypress varieties and a few others are extremely flammable trees and shrubs.
They contain volatile oils and waxes in their foliage, and accumulate dead materials within the plant. Many firefighters refer to these plants as “little green gas cans” that can be easily ignited from burning embers or direct flame contact.
When they burn, they generate enough heat to ignite nearby vegetation and your home. Native southwest Oregon plants such as manzanita, wedge leaf ceanothus, buckbrush and a few others, also fall into this highly flammable plant category. There are many landscaping alternatives to these little green gas cans to use near your home. Combinations of low-growing deciduous shrubs, herbaceous flowers and groundcover plants are far less likely to generate enough heat to ignite your home or surrounding vegetation.
For more information on what to plant, consult Fire-resistant plants for home landscaping, PNW 590.
No ladder fuels
Vegetation that can carry a fire from the surface or low-growing plants to taller plants are known as ladder fuels. The goal of ladder-fuel reduction or pruning is to create separation that disconnects the tree or plant crowns from the surface vegetation beneath them. Remember, keep a tree’s foliage in the crown and off the ground.
- Prune the lower branches of mature trees up at least 10 feet above the surface.
- Remove excessive plants and shrubs growing beneath the drip lines of overstory trees. Only retain those plants within irrigated, well-maintained lawns, flower beds or groundcover plants.
- Prune up the lower third of younger trees and small saplings. The goal is to create separation from surface fuels while retaining sufficient crown to insure a healthy tree. Keeping grasses mowed and other plants removed under and near young saplings will also help disconnect the fuels ladder.
- For tips on proper pruning techniques, contact your local OSU Extension Service office.
Spacing around your home
Within 30 feet of the home, the canopies or drip lines of individual or small groups of several trees, both hardwoods and conifers, should be separated by between 10 to 30 feet, depending on the tree size and species. More than 30 feet from the home, but still within the Defensible Space Zone, on flat or gently sloping terrain, individual trees or small groups should have about 10 feet of separation between tree canopies or drip lines. This distance should be increased on steeper slopes of 30% or more. Remember, wildfires burn quicker uphill, and steeper terrain can cause crown fires to spread upslope much more easily.
Create separation
Within your home’s defensible space zone, native trees and shrubs should not occur in dense stands. Dense stands of trees and shrubs pose a significant wildfire threat and contribute to declining tree or plant health and vigor.
Thinning to create more space between plants and tree crowns is the best management tool for reducing the wildfire threat around homes and forested properties. Thinning also helps increase the overall health of forested areas by reducing competition between plants.
Thinning native shrubs
In southwest Oregon, many native shrubs occur as individual plants and in clumps of shrubs. Within 30 feet of your home, all flammable shrubs such as manzanita, buckbrush, wedge leaf ceanothus and other shrubs should be removed. More than 30 feet from your home but still within your defensible space zone, shrubs should be separated from each other by at least twice the height of the average shrub. For example, if the average shrub height is 2 feet, there should be 4 feet of separation between branches or crowns. This separation should be greater with homes on steeper slopes (more than 30%). To create separation, remove or prune shrubs to reduce their height, diameter or both. Always remove all dead material from the plants and only retain those plants with the best form, vigor and chance of survival.
Thinning forested areas
Many native conifer and hardwood tree species grow in southwest Oregon. Conifer species such as ponderosa pine, Jeffery pine, Douglas-fir, white fir and incense cedar can naturally occur in dense patches in the forest understory or in openings after a disturbance. Many native hardwood species follow the same growth patterns.
Densely stocked forested areas not only pose a wildfire threat; overcrowded conditions can lead to declining stand health from the stress of competing for the limited resources during the dry seasons.
Native hardwoods in this region, including oak and madrone, are prolific stump-sprouters. Once the main stem has been cut, their root system remains alive and can have multiple resprouts later. The best treatment for thinning stump-clumps of multiple hardwood stems is to remove all but one or two of the most dominant stems, and treat each clump as an individual tree. This will reduce fuel loading and ladder fuels, and promote healthier, larger stems.
The concept of thinning from below the canopy is useful when treating forested areas outside of your defensible space. In this practice, suppressed, dying, and many of the dead, small-diameter (usually 8-inch diameter or less) conifers and hardwoods are targeted for removal. Those trees with less than 30% live-crown ratios (the percentage of live foliage within the tree’s crown) are removed to help release the healthier understory and overstory trees. Removing the suppressed understory reduces the competition between trees while removing forest fuels and ladder fuels from the stand. This helps to promote a healthier, more fire-resistant forest.
Defensible space must be regularly maintained. Fresh-cut madrone and oak trees resprout rapidly after cutting, and shrubs like manzanita and poison oak often shoot up in cleared areas along with invasive weeds, such as blackberries and Scotch broom. Without ongoing attention to regrowth of brush and accumulating dead materials, the home protection benefits of defensible space will be diminished or lost.
Fire managers promote defensible space
Defensible space is supported by the environmental goals and ordinances of both Jackson and Josephine counties. A healthy forest and a fire-resistant forest go hand in hand. A few defensible space recommendations may call for consultation or a permit from local fire-management agencies, Oregon Department of Forestry districts or your local OSU Extension office to reduce other potential impacts to the ecosystem.
- Managing trees: Some local fire agencies may require a permit for the cutting of live trees greater than 6 inches in diameter.
- Plant selection: Plants being used in areas other than borders, entryways, flower beds and similar locations need to be selected from the OSU Extension Recommended Plant List, which includes information on the fire resistance of different plants. For this plant list, as well as a list of accent plants suitable for Southwest Oregon’s conditions, consult Fire-resistant plants for home landscapes, PNW 590.
- Noncombustible area: In the 5-foot noncombustible area around structures, using gravel, rock, pervious concrete, pervious pavers or appropriate vegetation will be beneficial.
- Enclosing decks: Enclosing the underside of a deck may increase the amount of land coverage on a property.
- Sensitive areas: If the defensible space zone includes sensitive areas, including lakeshores, a beach, stream-environment zones, scenic resource areas or conservation or recreation areas, additional considerations may apply. Adequate defensible space can still be achieved with professional advice.
Working with your neighbors
When the area needed to create an effective defensible space exceeds your property boundaries, you’ll need to contact the adjacent property owner to discuss opportunities to work cooperatively. Due to the private/public checkerboard landownership of Southwest Oregon, your neighbor could be a government agency. An important first step is to check with your local fire department or fire district before proceeding. Contact information for some of the common government landowners in Southwest Oregon neighborhoods is presented below. If you are interested in getting other homeowners in your neighborhood organized to reduce wildfire hazards, contact your local fire district or department.
Oregon Department of Forestry (Grants Pass): 541-474-3152
Oregon Department of Forestry (Central Point): 541-664-3328
OSU Extension Service (Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center): 541-776-7371
Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service (Grants Pass): 541-471-6500
Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service (Medford): 541-618-2200
Conservation landscaping concepts
When creating defensible space, be aware of water quality concerns on the Rogue River and its tributaries. If misapplied, defensible space practices could encourage accelerated erosion, a major contributor to the declining clarity of moving water. Consider using the following conservation landscaping concepts when creating defensible space:
- Do not remove all vegetation from the defensible space zone.
- Low-fire-hazard vegetation is the preferred alternative to incorporate the objectives of both Best Management Practices (BMPs) and defensible space.
- Do not dig out plant roots. Leave them in place.
- When breaking up dense brush fields on steep slopes, leave islands of lean and green shrubs staggered horizontally across the slope.
- Implement BMPs on your property. BMPs are measures that help slow water runoff and control soil erosion. For a free BMP inspection of your property, contact the ODF district in Grants Pass at 541-474-3152 for Josephine County or 541-664-3328 in Medford for Jackson County.
- For educational materials and programs about defensible space, erosion control and general landscape management, call OSU Extension Service at 541-776-7371.
Evacuation
A key component of the Fire-Adapted Communities concept is that residents know how to safely and effectively evacuate. Successful community evacuation requires preparation. The following checklists provide recommendations concerning proper evacuation preparation. Evacuations are conducted to save lives and to allow responding personnel to focus on the emergency at hand. Please evacuate promptly when requested!
The evacuation process
Officials will determine the areas to be evacuated and the routes to use, depending upon the safest option for the specific incident. If an evacuation order is given, follow directions promptly!
- You will be advised of potential evacuations as early as possible.
- Listen to your radio or TV for announcements from law enforcement and emergency personnel.
- It is important that you follow ALL evacuation instructions immediately, for your safety.
If evacuation is a possibility
Below is a suggested list of items that you should take with you in the event you must evacuate. Gather enough for several days. Be sure to add or subtract from this list as it applies to your personal situation.
Place these items in your vehicle (make sure each family member has also gathered their items):
- Several changes of clothing and sturdy shoes for each family member
- Toiletries
- Hearing aids, glasses, etc.
- Special dietary items
- Baby supplies, toys, books, etc.
- Water or snacks (don’t forget water for your pets)
- Medications, copies of prescriptions, vaccination records
- Pet food, supplies and pet vaccination records
- Important papers (insurance policies, health information, etc.) and identification
- Important phone numbers, cell phone and charger, change for a pay phone
Some other important preparation tasks:
- Make an evacuation plan for your family, including where you will go, how you will get there, where your pets will go if they can’t go to a shelter with you and how you will let others know where you will be.
- Park your vehicle facing outward in your driveway and carry your car keys with you.
- Locate your pets and keep them nearby; prepare livestock/horses for transport.
- Leave windows closed and air conditioning off.
Returning home
Emergency officials will determine when it is safe for you to return to your home. This will be done as soon as possible, considering safety and accessibility. Be alert for downed power lines and other hazards.
Visit Rogue Valley Emergency Management to download a copy of your county’s Emergency Preparedness Handbook.
Disaster supply kit
Prepare for at least three days, but preferably seven days. The best time to assemble a disaster supply kit is well before you need it. Most of these items are already in your home. Stocking up on emergency supplies right now can add to your family’s safety and comfort during and after a disaster.
Essentials for a disaster supply kit
If you anticipate an extended evacuation at an emergency shelter or your family is returning to a home without functioning electricity and water, these items will prove to be helpful:
- 1 gallon of water per person, per day, stored in unbreakable containers and labeled with the storage date. Replace every six months.
- Supply of nonperishable packaged or canned foods with a hand-operated can opener
- Antibacterial hand wipes or gel
- First-aid kit, including a first-aid book
- At least one blanket or sleeping bag per person
- ABC-type fire extinguisher
- Special items for infants, elderly or disabled family members
- Large plastic trash bags, tarps and rain ponchos
- A large trash can
- Bar soap, liquid detergent and household bleach
- Rubber gloves and duct tape
Preparing pets and livestock for evacuation
Plan to take your animals with you and never turn them loose. Animals may not be allowed inside human emergency shelters, so be sure you have alternate plans for their sheltering.
- Make sure dogs and cats wear properly fitted collars with identification, vaccination, microchip and license tags.
- Your pet evacuation plan should include routes, transportation needs and host sites. Share this plan with trusted neighbors in your absence.
- Exchange veterinary information with neighbors and file a permission slip with the veterinarian authorizing emergency care for your animals if you cannot be located.
- Make sure all vehicles, trailers and pet carriers needed for evacuation are serviced and ready to be used.
- Assemble a disaster supply kit for each animal with a supply of food (for two to three days), nonspill food and water bowls, leash or lead rope, pet carrier (if possible), vaccination records, medications/first aid kit, toys and treats, sanitation supplies and a current picture of the animal.
Preparedness for people with access and functional needs
Anyone with a disability or who lives with, works with or assists a person with a disability or special need should create a disaster plan. For some individuals, being notified of or responding to a disaster may be more difficult because of a disability. Disabilities may be physical, mental, emotional, socioeconomic, cultural or language based. Addressing special needs ahead of time will reduce the physical and emotional trauma caused by the emergency.
- Be informed of what might happen by learning about community hazards, disaster planning and local warning systems.
- Make a plan for what you will do in an emergency. Assess what you will be able to do during a disaster and what you will need help with. Consider creating a personal support network to help you plan and respond to a disaster. Be sure to plan for your pets.
- Make a disaster supply kit. Include items for you and your pets.
You have prepared your family for an emergency evacuation when you have:
- Made a family emergency plan and everyone in your family knows how to implement it
- Registered with Citizen Alert, the local emergency notification system
- Registered with your phone-tree caretaker, if a phone tree has been established in your community
- Practiced your family’s emergency plan by conducting your own evacuation drill
- Arranged for transportation out of the affected area if you do not drive
- Designated a safe meeting place and contact person for you and your family members
- Assembled disaster supply kits for your family and pets
- Inventoried home contents, videotaped or photographed property, and placed photos and videos in your disaster supply kit
- Prepared “WATER SOURCE HERE” signage
Notification
Effectively communicating emergency information requires a partnership between local government, emergency responders, the media and the public. Although emergency information is made available, YOU must make a conscious effort to seek out that information. No single method of communication is fail-safe during an emergency, so regional public safety officials use a combination of methods to keep the public informed during an emergency.
Wildfire conditions may change rapidly, and communication may be obstructed when fire destroys power lines or phone lines, or closes roads. Be aware of current fire conditions and weather, and consider evacuation based your local conditions, even if you have not been notified to do so.
- Social media: Jackson and Josephine County Emergency Management departments use Facebook to communicate emergency information during disasters. Visit Rogue Valley Emergency Management for links to each Facebook page as well as news and other information.
- Emergency notification system: Sign up in Citizen Alert to receive alerts about emergencies near your home, workplace, children’s schools or other important places.
- Local media outlets: The local media provides timely information to the public during emergencies. Most television stations and newspapers have breaking news on their websites, as well as on their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds. Some radio stations also have websites.
There is no guarantee that every citizen will be contacted, but these methods allow officials to quickly notify large sections of the local population. As another option, consider establishing an emergency phone tree in your neighborhood in conjunction with your local fire department or fire district.
When a fire threatens
During a wildfire, it will likely be dark, smoky, windy, dry and hot. There may be burning embers being blown about, no power, no phone service and poor water pressure. Remember, there is nothing you own worth your life!
Please evacuate immediately when asked by fire or law enforcement officials — don’t be caught in traffic or by the fire itself!
If you are concerned, don’t wait to be asked to leave! Early evacuation, especially if you have pets and livestock, is a good course of action. Drive slowly, turn on your vehicle headlights and stay as far to the right side of the road as possible.
Put your family’s emergency plan into action
Prepare to evacuate:
- Be aware of your surroundings, including current fire conditions and the weather. Recognize that local infrastructure such as power lines and roads may be offline due to wildfires.
- Close all interior doors.
- Dress to prevent burns by wearing long pants, a long-sleeved shirt or jacket made of cotton or wool, a hat, gloves and boots.
- Park your vehicle in the garage or driveway facing out with the garage door open and the vehicle windows closed (to prevent embers from getting in).
- Confine pets to one room in your home, or secure pets in their own carrier or cage.
- Place your family and pet disaster supply kits and personal mementos in your vehicle.
Inside your home:
- Keep your radio or television turned on for instructions.
- Close all interior doors.
- Leave a light on in each room.
- Remove combustible curtains and other materials from around windows.
- Close windows, skylights and exterior doors (house, garage, shop and barn).
- Close fire-resistant drapes, shutters and blinds.
- Turn off all pilot lights.
- Move overstuffed furniture (couches and easy chairs) to the center of the room.
- Close fireplace damper.
- Turn off air conditioning.
Outside your home and outbuildings:
- Place combustible patio furniture and accessories inside or toss them away from the house.
- Remove barbecue propane tanks and place them away from the house where they can safely vent.
- Shut off propane at the tank or natural gas at the meter.
- Close or cover foundation, attic and eave vents with precut plywood covers or several layers of aluminum foil.
- Cover windows with plywood panels at least 1/2-inch thick.
- Prop a noncombustible ladder against the house.
- Connect garden hoses to faucets and attach nozzles set on spray.
- Remove excelsior pads from swamp coolers and toss them away from the house.
- Leave doors and gates unlocked.
- Turn on outside lights.
- Fill trash cans and buckets with water and place where firefighters can find them.
- If you have an emergency water source, post WATER SOURCE HERE sign in the predetermined spot clearly visible from the street.
Evacuating
- Lock your home, load pets and family members into your vehicle, and close the garage door.
- Drive cautiously with your headlights on.
- Follow practiced evacuation routes to the designated safe meeting place unless instructed to do otherwise by emergency responders.
- Let authorities know of any neighbors needing assistance. NOTE: If you are trapped by fire while evacuating in your car, park in an area clear of vegetation; close the windows and vents and cover yourself with a blanket or jacket.
- When you arrive at a safe place, relay your plans to the designated contact person.
- Be sure to register on the Red Cross Safe and Well List.
If you cannot leave:
- If you are unable to evacuate, stay in your home during the fire. It will be much hotter and more dangerous outside.
- Call 911 for assistance.
- Turn on all exterior lights.
- Stay away from windows and move to an interior room or hallway.
- Do not attempt to leave until after the fire has passed and you can safely leave.
- Check for small fires inside the house and extinguish them.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Be familiar with the escape routes from your home in case it catches fire.
- Fill sinks and tubs with water.
- Place wet rags under doors and other openings to prevent entry of embers and smoke.
- Once the fire front has passed, check your flower beds, roof, rain gutters, attic and crawl space for fires or burning embers, and extinguish them.
Be ready, be set, go!
Every year, homes in Southwest Oregon are threatened by wildfires. The state of Oregon adopted a three-level evacuation process to help families prepare.
Be ready: Level 1 evacuation
A Level 1 evacuation means “BE READY” for potential evacuation. Residents should be aware of the danger that exists in their area and monitor emergency services websites and local media outlets for information. This is the time for preparation and precautionary movement of persons with special needs, mobile property, and (under certain circumstances) pets and livestock. If conditions worsen, emergency services personnel may contact you via an emergency notification system.
All residents should be at this level of readiness at all times!
Be set: Level 2 evacuation
A level 2 evacuation means “BE SET” to evacuate. This level indicates there is significant danger to your area, and residents should either voluntarily relocate to a shelter or with family or friends outside of the affected area, or, if choosing to remain, to be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice. Residents MAY have time to gather necessary items, but doing so is at their own risk. THIS MAY BE THE ONLY NOTICE THAT YOU RECEIVE. Emergency services cannot guarantee that they will be able to notify you if conditions rapidly deteriorate. Area media services will be asked to broadcast periodic updates.
Go: Level 3 evacuation
A Level 3 evacuation means that you need to LEAVE IMMEDIATELY! Danger to your area is current or imminent, and you should evacuate immediately. If you choose to ignore this advisement, you must understand that emergency services may not be available to assist you further. DO NOT delay leaving to gather any belongings or make efforts to protect your home. Access to evacuated areas may be denied until conditions are safe for citizens to return. DO NOT plan to return to check on your house or animals. If it’s not safe for you, it’s not safe for them!
Sign up to receive emergency alerts about emergencies near your home, workplace, children’s schools, or other important places at Rogue Valley Emergency Management.
Applegate Valley Fire District #9
1095 Upper Applegate Rd.
Jacksonville, OR 97530
541-899-1050
Ashland Fire & Rescue
455 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, OR 97520
541-482-2770
Butte Falls Fire Department
431 Broad St.
Butte Falls, OR 97522
541-865-4383
Evans Valley Fire District #6
8677 E. Evans Creek Rd.
Rogue River, OR 97537
541-582-0678
Greensprings Rural Fire District
11471 Highway 66
Ashland, OR 97520
541-488-0911
Illinois Valley Rural Fire Protection District
681 Caves Highway
Cave Junction, OR 97523
541-592-2225
Jackson County Fire District #3
8383 Agate Rd.
White City, OR 97503
541-826-7100
Jackson County Fire District #4
21200 OR Highway 62
Shady Cove, OR 97539
541-878-2666
Jackson County Fire District #5
5811 S. Pacific Highway
Phoenix, OR 97535
541-535-4222
Jacksonville Fire
180 N. 3rd St.
Jacksonville, OR 97530
541-899-7246
Lake Creek Fire District #8
1584 S. Fork Little Butte Creek Rd.
Eagle Point, OR 97524
541-826-2163
Medford Airport Fire Rescue
3650 Fire Station Spur Rd.
Medford, OR 97504
541-772-8068
Medford Fire
200 S. Ivy St.
Medford, OR 97501
541-774-2300
Prospect Rural Fire Protection
276 Mill Creek Dr.
Prospect, OR 97536
541-560-3309
Rogue River Fire District
5474 N. River Rd.
Gold Hill, OR 97525
541-582-4411
Rural Metro Fire Department
807 NE 6th St.
Grants Pass, OR 97526
541-474-1218
Williams Rural Fire Protection District
211 E. Fork Rd.
Williams, OR 97544
541-846-7644
Wolf Creek Rural Fire Protection District
1 Old State Highway 99S
Wolf Creek, OR 97497
541-866-2584
Oregon Department of Forestry
Grants Pass Unit
5375 Monument Dr.
Grants Pass, OR 97526
541-474-3152
Oregon Department of Forestry
Medford Unit
5286 Table Rock Rd.
Central Point, OR 97502
541-664-3328
USFS/BLM - Grants Pass Interagency
2164 NE Spalding Ave.
Grants Pass, OR 97526
541-471-6500
USFS/BLM - Medford Interagency
34 Biddle Road
Medford, OR 9754
541-618-2200
Acknowledgments
This publication was developed with support of the Josephine County Firewise Communities Grant, a Secure Rural Schools, Title III grant administered through the Oregon Department of Forestry.
This publication was adapted from both Fire-adapted communities: The next step in wildfire preparedness (EM 9116) as well as Fire-adapted communities: The next step in wildfire preparedness (University of Nevada Cooperative Extension publication SP-11-01), with permission from University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and the OSU Klamath Basin Research and Extension Center. Special thanks to Firewise Communities, Fire Adapted Communities and the Northwest Fire Science Consortium for content.
This publication was adapted, developed and made possible through the efforts of the following organizations:
- U.S. Forest Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- Oregon Department of Forestry
- Oregon State University Extension/Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center (SOREC)
- Josephine County Emergency Management
- Jackson County Emergency Management
- Jackson County Integrated Fire Plan Partners
- Josephine County Integrated Fire Plan Partners
- City of Grants Pass Firewise/Wildfire Preparedness
- Ashland Fire & Rescue
- Dedicated community members