A message from the City of Ashland Forestry Officer Chris Chambers:
It’s time for our community to face a difficult but essential fact: we are no longer living in the climate that we planned for.
Present-day Ashland was cobbled together over 150 years — and throughout most of those years, wildfire was not a factor in our community planning. That has changed in recent decades, but we’ve nonetheless inherited streets, a water system, an electric grid and flammable construction and landscaping that weren’t designed for today’s, and tomorrow’s warming world.
The reminders of our vulnerability are all too frequent and scary — L.A., Lahaina, and of course, the Almeda fire. It doesn’t take reading tea leaves to know that if we don’t reimagine our community and behavior, we risk more frequent and more severe losses.
But that doesn’t need to be our future if we plan carefully and begin making needed changes right now. Sometimes it feels like there’s no hope in the face of fires like the Almeda Fire… but that’s not true.
We built the problem. We can unbuild it. Our plan for that journey is called the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, or CWPP.
Ashland has had a CWPP since 2004. The original plan laid the groundwork for our successful forest resiliency work, which has now attracted over $30 million in outside investment. It’s an impressive wildfire mitigation and prevention effort for a small city. While work in our forests continues (in perpetuity), we now need to shift our focus to examine and reduce wildfire hazards across Ashland itself — including our homes and backyards. Think of this as Phase Two of the cutting-edge Ashland community wildfire safety and forest resiliency project.
The newly drafted CWPP lays the groundwork for needed community-wide changes. Some are relatively easy and not very expensive. Adding ember-resistant screening, removing flammable plants and small trees, getting rid of bark mulch near buildings and sealing openings aren’t rocket science or costly. Most people can do those things over a weekend or have a contractor do them all at once… or even spaced out over a period of a couple of years. Replacing flammable wooden gates and fences within 10 feet of structures is more costly (but no less important!), yet still achievable for many property owners.
Unfortunately, in our experience with programs that coach people to make voluntary changes for wildfire safety, far too few do the work even when offered financial incentives. In one grant-funded program, we offered the highest hazard homes in Ashland over $2,000 to remove flammable landscaping around their homes… literally paying people to keep their homes from burning down! Yet only 30% of those offered the incentive followed through. Our experiences with incentive programs and over 15 years of Firewise USA work with neighborhoods have shown that voluntary compliance will not get us to a safe place. With the looming wildfire threat, there must be deadlines and standards met if we want to avoid disaster. Wildfire protection in a dense urban environment relies on ALL of us doing the right thing. It doesn’t work if we don’t achieve critical mass.
Our new CWPP calls for at least 90% of all properties to comply with best practices for reducing wildfire risk within 10 years. Fire doesn’t make exceptions. We can’t either.
We will be seeking cost-share funding to help defray costs, particularly for lower-income and physically challenged members of the community. Helping those who are most at risk due to social factors is a CWPP priority.
This isn’t an easy change, we’re used to the way things have always been, but because our climate and our community aren’t in sync we are forced to reinvent ourselves together. That task pales in comparison to rebuilding after a deadly fire. Fortunately, we have science, technology and lessons learned from too many horrible wildfires. We know what needs to be done. We can be that community at the forefront, adapting to our changing environment and continuing to thrive. We have to be.
When the CWPP draft is released later this month, please give it a read. There will be a visual depiction in what’s called a StoryMap. Please dig into all of it. We need your ideas, reactions and support. If you’re ready to spring into action and reduce your risk, please see our Fire Adapted Ashland website, ashlandoregon.gov/FireAdapted.
(A version of this article was originally published by the Ashland Climate Collaborative, a community partner for the, “Better Prepared Wildfire Series,” ashlandoregon.gov/BetterPreparedSeries. This series will help you take action and gain the skills and strategies to safeguard your home, loved ones and the community.)
Upcoming Events to help you Take Action to be Better Prepared for a Wildfire
Please keep an eye on our website for the CWPP draft release and comment period. Mark your calendars for the Better Prepared Wildfire Series, especially on Sunday, May 4 between 2 and 5 p.m. at The Grove for a CWPP Open House – Visit anytime during the Open House!. The Grove is located at 1195 East Main St.
May 4 is also the annual free Green Debris Drop-off Day at the Valley View Transfer Station… A good chance to get a jump on your yard clean-up and wildfire risk reduction! Your green debris will also be accepted at the first annual Spring Clean event on Sunday, May 18, at the Valley View Transfer Station, in addition to green debris, bring your trash, bulky items, recycling and donations. Many thanks to Recology Ashland for coordinating these events! For more information email or call 541.482.1471.
Looking for a way to get rid of your Household Hazardous Waste? Look to Recology Ashland who is hosting the annual Household Hazardous Waste event on Saturday, May 3, at Rogue Disposal Transfer and Recycling Center. Details at recology.com.
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(Photo Darren Campbell)