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Wednesday, March 20, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Preparing for wildfire season in Sisters
While Sisters-area resi-
dents were shoveling snow,
staff with the Sisters-Camp
Sherman Fire District were
busy preparing for another
wildfire season.
With summer just a few
months away, several projects
are nearing completion which
the fire district believes will
improve the safety of area
residents. Projects include
enhancing partnerships
with Firewise communities,
increasing community pre-
paredness for evacuations,
advocating for enhanced
building codes and improving
the burn-permitting process.
Fire Chief Roger Johnson
said, <We are seeing a grow-
ing fire problem across
Oregon and the entire West
Coast. We want to make sure
our agency and the commu-
nity are prepared for changing
conditions.=
While the Sisters area
didn9t experience a signifi-
cant fire like Milli or Pole
Creek last season, it did have
several smaller fires that chal-
lenged responders. The Rabbit
Brush Fire in the Cloverdale
community destroyed two
homes and several outbuild-
ings before being controlled.
Fires at Warm Springs, and
the Graham Fire at Lake Billy
Chinook also required activa-
tion of regional task forces to
control the fires. In addition
to regional fires, the District
participated in two statewide
mobilizations. One mobiliza-
tion was for the Substation
Fire in The Dalles and the
District also sent personnel
and equipment to the Camp
Fire in California (Paradise).
The Camp Fire was
California9s most devastating
wildfire in history, destroying
18,800 buildings and killing
85 people. The Camp Fire has
impacted the way fire officials
across the country are viewing
the growing fire problem, and
those impacts are being felt in
Sisters.
<We told our personnel as
they deployed to Paradise,
view the fire through the lens
of Sisters,= Chief Johnson
said. <We wanted to know,
where can we improve?=
The Fire District is focus-
ing its efforts on prevention,
community preparedness and
education. Even in California
where there is an abundance
of firefighters, fire engines
and aircraft, entire communi-
ties are still being destroyed
by wildfire. The Fire District
is supporting efforts to require
new homes to be built with
more fire-resistant construc-
tion. The Oregon Residential
Specialty Code (building
code) now allows communi-
ties to adopt a stricter building
standard in high-risk areas.
New standards require
non-combustible siding,
non-flammable roofing and
smaller ventilation open-
ings. Recent studies have
determined that most homes
destroyed by wildland fires
are ignited by flying embers.
Reducing a home9s vulner-
ability to ember intrusion will
save homes and businesses
during a wildfire.
The Fire District is also
planning two community
events in Sisters this spring.
In April there will be a meet-
ing for all Firewise communi-
ties and homeowners associa-
tions that may be interested
in becoming a Firewise com-
munity. Firewise is a program
initiated by the National Fire
Protection Association that
teaches people how to adapt
to living with wildfire and
encourages neighbors to work
together to prevent losses
from wildfire.
The Fire District would
like every neighborhood in
Sisters and Camp Sherman
to become a Firewise com-
munity. Also during the April
meeting participants will
receive information about the
coming fire season and strat-
egies to make homes in their
community more resilient in
the face of wildfire.
In May, the Fire District
is hosting a community pre-
paredness day where residents
will be asked to evaluate their
home and make sure they are
ready for the coming fire sea-
son. Residents will be asked
to evaluate their home for
vulnerabilities. Residents will
also be asked to learn where
the evacuation routes for their
neighborhoods are.
During a fire, the
Deschutes County Sheriff9s
Office will implement
any needed evacuations.
Normally, residents will be
directed to evacuate their
neighborhood on the main
access roads they use every
day. In some cases they may
be directed to use an alternate
road. The best time to become
familiar with alternate evacu-
ation routes is before the fire
starts. Residents will also be
encouraged to register their
cell phone with the Deschutes
County Sheriff9s Office. By
registering cell phone num-
bers, residents will receive
emergency notifications wher-
ever they are. To register your
cell phone go to https://www.
deschutes.org/911/page/sign-
deschutes-emergency-alerts.
The Fire District is also
introducing a new burn-per-
mitting system. The permit-
ting system will remain free,
but will have a web-based
feature that will allow resi-
dents to text if they want to
burn. Once the Fire District
receives the text, the program
will instantly respond, letting
the user know if it is a burn
day or not. The program will
also capture the location of
the burn, which will allow
firefighters to know on a daily
basis where fires are burn-
ing. The new system will also
allow the Fire District to send
notifications to users of the
system.
The Fire District hopes
to have the system online by
May 1.
Residents are reminded
that the City of Sisters does
not allow burning of brush
and debris within city limits.
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