2022 Summit Acres Chipping Event
Two households/properties participated in the chipping event this year (this was our second chipping event). Both properties utilized volunteer labor, as well as equipment rental, to cut and move materials to roadside, including removal of lodgepole pine trees and bitterbrush, for chipping by a contractor we hired using the grant funds. Approximately 2 acres were treated using the funds.
In addition, this effort included contacting all community residents inquiring who would like financial support this season using these grant funds, along with continued communication and education about Firewise activities and benefits. This initiated work on additional properties as well, even though those property owners found other resources outside of these limited grant funds to complete work this spring.
2021 Summit Acres Chipping Event
Wildfire is a fact of life in Central Oregon. Preparing your home for the threat of wildfire is your responsibility. Most homes are lost as a result of ember showers that travel ahead a wildfire and ignite fuels near the home. Other homes are lost because of fuels that lead high intensity fire directly to homes. Modifying vegetation 30-100 feet around your home creates a defensible space.
Summit Acres Chipping Project instructions
Your FREE Community Chipping Event is your opportunity to reduce those ladder fuels. To sign up for the Summit Acres chipping event, click here: https://forms.gle/gwMAav7QFNfeQqCB7
For more information on creating defensible space: www.firefree.org
Midstate Electric Property Owner Request for Tree Danger Tree Removal
Wildfire Defensible Space Program for Low-income Senior or Disabled Homeowners
Upper Deschutes River Communities (UDRC) has partnered with Council on Aging (COA) to provide free wildfire fuels reduction services for low-income senior or disabled homeowners in the Upper Deschutes River and La Pine Community Wildfire Protection Plan areas.
Click here to see the application
UDRC Defensible Space Reimbursement Program
The intention of this program is to offer an incentive to South County property owners. Creating defensible space will not only mitigate your wildfire risk, but help our communities become more fire adapted. UDRC will help property owners within the Upper Deschutes River and La Pine Community Wildfire Protection Plan areas outside of Sunriver with the cost of creating or maintaining defensible space for wildfire risk reduction. The UDRC will reimburse your expenses for licensed fuels reduction contractors or rental equipment up to $500 maximum. One application from a property owner or joint owner will be accepted each year. The UDRC will not reimburse work completed before your application is approved. Applicants for the Reimbursement Program may not apply for the Low-income Senior program in the same year.
Before beginning your fuels reduction project, click here to fill out the online application form with instructions. You will receive email notification when your application is accepted. After hiring a licensed contractor and completing the fuels reduction project, send a copy of your paid invoice documenting your expenses by email to udrc@udrc.org or mail to UDRC, PO Box 3042, Sunriver OR, 97707. After receiving the invoice, the UDRC will mail a check for reimbursement. For more information about the program Contact the UDRC.
Deschutes County Firewise Communities
Knowing that fire has been and will continue to be, a part of our environment. The fire in the distance is not a matter of if, but when it will happen in our backyard. How you prepare will determine how that fire will impact you and your family. Visit the link below to learn how our Central Oregon neighbors are taking action together to reduce their risk.
https://maps.deschutes.org/portal/apps/storymaps/stories/67f69a98802b4d4fabf00ac55c5cb979
Why we believe in this program
Stage Coach Fire in July 2013 – Tony was out of town and in an airport waiting for his next flight when we got the call. Mike was 14 years old at the time. Mike and I borrowed Bonnie and Rob’s horse trailer and headed out to my Mom’s to help. It was so smokey when we arrived, people were zipping around everywhere, adding to the already heavy smoke by stirring up the dust.
When we arrived at Moms house, we got the horses loaded up as quickly as possible. What I saw right behind Mom’s house was terrifying. I’ve included a video for you to see just how close this fire was to her house.
Not far behind her house in the woods is a small cabin my brother built. You can see from the video below it sure looked like that cabin never made it. We were told by Walker Range they could not save it. We grudgingly told my brother his decade long project was gone. After the fire was out, we took a walk out back. Imagine our surprise when we found the cabin and all the trees and vegetation around it had survived!
Stage Coach Fire in Antelope Meadows July 2013
This video was taken at our family property (where Kathy’s Mom and her youngest brother live) in Antelope Meadows on July 22, 2013. Here, you can see the Stagecoach Fire approaches the house, thanks to the fire fighters who saved the house, barn and outbuildings.
Thank you! USFS Crescent Ranger District, Walker Range FPA, Crescent Fire, La Pine Fire, Bureau of Land Management/Prineville District, Oregon Outback Rural Fire Districts, Klamath and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, Midstate Electric Cooperative, ODOT, Oregon Department of Forestry, Klamath and Deschutes Counties Task Forces, Red Cross and radio station KITC-FM and the La Pine Community!
Devastation Surrounds a Small Cabin in Antelope Meadows, Cabin saved!
March 2021 – The green area in this Google Earth image shows where my brothers cabin is. All the area around it was burned. This is a perfect example of why fuel reduction efforts work! (Thanks to Kathy’s brother, Mark) The fires these past years help us to realize there are things we can do to minimize the destruction a wildfire can cause. Do you think these efforts could be helpful in our Sprague Loop community? Absolutely!
Summit Acres Chipping Event Map
Ooops! Sorry about MY confusion about the area for the chipping event. I got some files mixed up. Here is the official map for the June 1 chipping event. My apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused. –Kathy