Reducing Fire Hazard

Wildfires occur every year in Oregon. Although you can't eliminate every threat of wildfire, you can take steps to make sure your home and forestland survives wildfire in the best condition possible.

  • Do you have an evacuation plan?
  • Does your home utilize fire resistant materials?
  • Have you adequately assessed the fire risk around your home and forestland to help prepare for a forest fire?
  • Have you done any fuel reduction around your home & property?

 

For more information, please conact:
Stephen Fitzgerald, Oregon State University Silviculture Extension Specialist and Director of the College of Forestry Research Forests

 

FIRE SAFETY RESOURCES TO GET YOU STARTED:

OSU Extension Service Publications
Oregon State University Extension has several practical publications on wildfire. You can get these publications in hard copy from your local OSU Extension office, or online at Extension and Experiment Station Communications. Below is a selection of available publications.

-Fire-Resistant Plants for Home Landscapes. This publication provides a diverse list of plants that are both fire resistant and attractive. Plants are listed by categories: ground cover, perrenials, shrubs, and trees.

-Reducing Fire Risk on Your Forest Property. By following the guidelines in this publication you can reduce a fire's severity so that most trees survive and firefighters are better able to attack and extinguish the blaze.

-Keeping Your Home and Property Safe from Wildfire: A Defensible Space and Fuel Reduction Guide for Homeowners and Landowners. This publication provides help for homeowners who want to reduce the wildfire risk around their homes or on their forest property by creating defensible space.

-The Home Ignition Zone: Protecting Your Property from Wildfire. This publication provides help for homeowners who want to reduce the wildfire risk around their homes or on their forest property by creating defensible space.

OSU Extension Fire Program
Oregon State University also has an Extension Fire Program which provides fire preparedness and mitigation, prescribed fire, smoke and post-fire resources for home and landowners. The Extension Fire Program also offers free webinars covering fire and forestry topics. For more information about Oregon State University Extension Fire Program, contact Carrie Berger at carrie.berger@oregonstate.edu.

National Fire Protection Association 
The National Fire Protection Association has a program called Firewise USA. This program provides resources to the public regarding wildfire preparedness. The Oregon Department of Forestry created a summary of the program and how the national program is implemented on a local level. There is also a Firewise Program that is unique to Oregon. 

Oregon Forest Protective Associations
Douglas Forest Protective Association
Coos Forest Protective Association
Walker Range Forest Protective Association

Extension CMS Topics: 

Publications

Presentations

Videos

  • How to make your home and property fire-safe It's time to start preparing for the fire season. The video discusses tips on making your home less vulnerable to wildfire this summer.
  • Making Your Forestland Fire-Safe Join Alicia Jones (Oregon State University Extension) and Kyle Reed (Douglas Forest Protective Association) to look at possible treatments you should consider to make your forestland more resilient to wildfire.