Plants for Fall Color:
to name a few!
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Report By Carlotta Lucas
Category Archives: Firewise Plants
2013 Fire Season – It’s Over!!
Greetings,
Thanks to our recent rain, Tuesday September 17th was the last day of the 2013 fire season. We made it through one of the hottest, driest and smokiest summers on record! The heavy smoke we experienced this summer from wildfires to our north is a timely reminder that we live in a region impacted by wildfire. Since beginning the Firewise Communities program in Ashland 3 years ago, not one home in Ashland has been lost to wildfire. This result is no accident. It is the result of many people and groups working together to make Firewise choices.
Thank you for all of your efforts in being prepared for wildfire: creating defensible space around your homes, following the recommended Firewise landscaping guidelines and observing equipment use restrictions. These are all meaningful and effective ways to keep your home and community safe from wildfire.
As we enter the fall and winter months, please remember to tackle those Firewise projects you didn’t get to this year, utilize fire resistant landscaping plants and building materials whenever possible, and continue to talk to your neighbors about creating and maintaining a Firewise Community. Fire season will be back for sure next year, and you can find out what you need to do to stay prepared at www.ashlandfirewise.org
Thank you for all you did this year to keep our community safe and prepared for wildfire.
Have a safe and happy autumn,
Ali True/Firewise Communities Coordinator
Ashland Fire & Rescue
541-552-2231 www.ashlandfirewise.org
Ali True: Firewise
July and record setting heat are around the corner. Are you ready for wildfire? This is the time to be sure that firewood has been moved away from your home, the areas immediately adjacent to your foundation and underneath your deck are clean from debris and mulch (when is the last time you looked under your deck to see what an ember could ignite?), and that your roof and gutters are clean of debris. Trim back overhanging tree branches, clear dead vegetation, and keep your grass cut short. Make the area around your home defensible and a place where fire activity will decrease, not increase, due to overgrown and fire-prone vegetation. Other easy suggestions can be found here.
Please take a moment to know how to stay informed about wildfires: these are sites to bookmark or enter in your phone.
· If you see smoke, call the Wildfire Hotline at 541-552-2490. It is a pre-recorded message with fire and smoke information that is updated as conditions change.
· Know fire season restrictions at www.ashland.or.us/fireseason. This page will be updated as the fire danger level rating increases and equipment use restrictions take effect.
· Register your cell phone with the Citizen Alert program. This service will notify you by text or call if we have an emergency, including a wildfire evacuation. Local landlines are already registered, but if you only have a cell phone, you have to register your number to receive the alerts. Also, be aware of our local 1700 AM Emergency Broadcast radio station.
· For preparedness information, please Like the Ashland Firewise Facebook page and follow on Twitter. Great info, photos and information are posted here daily that can help keep you informed and prepared during fire season.
Lastly, please help to keep your community and neighborhood safe by respecting the ban on fireworks in the City, and pass the word to friends and neighbors. Did you know that personal fireworks injured 8600 people and caused 15,000 fires across the US in 2010? Because of our concern for the safety of our citizens, visitors, buildings and forest, personal fireworks and sky lanterns are not allowed in the city of Ashland any time of the year. Please respect this ordinance and do your part to protect our city and watershed from catastrophic fire. Fireworks are exciting and create a great show to watch…..when lit by professionals. Have a safe and happy 4th of July!
Thanks to all of you who have strived to make your home and neighborhood safer from the threat of wildfire by removing hazardous vegetation on your property or around your neighborhood. These actions do make a difference when a wildfire strikes and embers are in the air. Ashland’s 12 nationally recognized Firewise Communities are a testament to the commitment Ashland residents share towards preparedness.
Remember that we all play a role in being prepared for wildfire. Have a safe summer season.
Thank you,
Ali True/Firewise Communities Coordinator
Ashland Fire & Rescue
541-552-2231
www.ashlandfirewise.org
Ashland Firewise: Ali True
Greetings,
Fire season is around the corner! Are you prepared? It may be March, but fire season will be here before we know it. Now is the time to get ready!
First, a brief update on the status of Firewise Communities in Ashland. As of 2012, there are 12 nationally recognized Firewise Communities in Ashland. Those are neighborhood organizations that have undertaken the simple 5 step process to become prepared together, for a wildfire. Ashland leads the state as the municipality with the most number of Firewise Communities. Way to go Ashland!
In addition, over 100 residents completed individual grants last year through our Firewise program to create defensible space in their own yards. Each and every resident who creates defensible space helps to save their own home, as well as limit the spread of wildfire within the City. Many of these residents worked with their immediate neighbors on property line plantings that endangered both homes, and now are safer.
The Firewise Commission has also been busy preparing events for Firewise Week, the first week of May. More info on that soon! In 2013, Ashland Firewise is partnering with Ashland CERT to combine the popular programs of Firewise and Your Neighborhood Redness program. The optional combination, called “Map Your Firewise Neighborhood” offers residents information about defensible space standards and wildfire preparedness, in addition to other disasters. We are hoping this pilot project helps to disseminate Firewise information to all neighborhoods in Ashland. For more information, contact myself, or Terri Eubanks, Ashland CERT Coordinator.
I am happy to announce the Firewise grant program for 2013. Additional funding has been secured to offer Ashland residents reimbursement for removing fire-prone vegetation near homes. The terms of the grant are very similar to years’ past; this year the max amount is $500. The grant requires a home assessment first, and is only for people who have not previously participated in a grant program. For more information, please visit ashland.or.us/grants. If you or your neighbors still have juniper, Leland cypress, or arborvitae around your homes, this grant may benefit you!
Remember that more than vegetation matters when making your home Firewise. Construction features and regular home maintenance can play a huge role in your home surviving a wildfire. For more preparedness info and tips, contact myself, or check out the comprehensive website, ashlandfirewise.org.
Whether it is installing 1/8 inch mesh screening under your deck, moving your woodpile, or cleaning out your gutters, all of these tasks can make a difference! Please check out the Ashland Firewise on Facebook. Great tips, photos, events reminders, and more are posted regularly. Take a quick moment to Friend or Like Ashland Firewise on Facebook, or follow on twitter. Just follow the links in my signature. Ashland Fire & Rescue is your resource for wildfire preparedness and information. Let us know how we can help.
Thank you,
Ali True/Firewise Communities Coordinator
Ashland Fire & Rescue
541-552-2231
www.ashlandfirewise.org
2012 November Horticultural Report: Firewise Plants
The Ashland Fire Dept is asking residents to seriously consider planting fire resistant plants around their house and property to reduce fire hazards. They are advising homeowners to remove all plants they consider fire hazards and in their place plant firewise plants.
For more information, and to schedule a free wildfire safety home assessment call: Ali True, Ashland Firewise Community Coordinator at 541-552-2231.
Junipers are especially combustible! This drought tolerant ground cover is planted around so many homes in our area the City is requesting they be cleared back 50 feet away from a any structure
Also, the Oregon State University Extension Service has a list of recommended fire-resistant plants which you can obtain from Valley View Nursery, or you can download it here: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/sorec/sites/default/files/fire-resistant_planting_wd_2011.pdf
The following is a short list of recommended firewise plants:
Ground Covers:
Kinnikinnick and Creeping Oregon Grape both look good year round and prefer sun or part sun. For shady areas, plant Japanese Pachysandra.
Perennials:
Firewise perennials plants: Yarrow (note: can spread), Cone flower, Iris, Oriental poppy , Russian sage, Lamb’s ear, and Cranesbill.
Shrubs:
Burning bush, Rockrose, Ferns, Witch Hazel, Heavenly Bamboo, False Holly, Pieris, Potentilla Fruticosa, Rosa Rugosa, Lilac, Viburnums, Sweetspire and Cotoneaster.
Regina, at Ray’s Nursery, highly recommends the following plants because they are not only fire-resistant, they are very attractive, easy to grow and deer resistant.
Cotoneaster Dammeri
Plant Type: Evergreen, groundcover, shrub
Size: 2ft tall 6ft wide
Bloom Time: Late Spring
Flowers: White
Exposure: Full sun
Attributes: Fall color & red berries, Deer resistant, Attracts Birds, drought tolerant once established. Grows fast.
USDA Zone: 5-8
Itea Virginica (Little Henry Sweetspire)
Plant Type: Deciduous Shrub
Size: 2 ft High 3ft Wide
Bloom Time: June – July
Flowers: Fragrant white sprays
Exposure: Part to full sun
Attributes: Attracts butterflies, Bright red fall foliage, Deer resistant, North America Native. Needs moist soil.
USDA Zone: 5-9
Horticultural Report by: Mary Anne Wallace
Article written by: Carlotta Lucas
Firewise: August 2012
This weekend brings us the first opportunity of the season for extreme fire danger coupled with the potential for lightning. It is the time of year that wildfires can strike at a moment’s notice, and embers can ignite fires wherever they land. Remember these fire season and Firewise resources until we get that first wetting rain of fall. Remember that firebrands can land up to a MILE ahead of a wildfire. You do not have to live in the forest to be impacted by a wildfire…you just have to live downwind of a fire, and in Ashland, any neighborhood can be impacted by embers.
First: Look at your home and the first ten feet around the foundation. Move anything that could burn away from your home. This includes bark mulch, dead leaves (yes, the space under your deck counts!), stacks of lumber, and especially firewood. If it can burn, do not let it touch your house! Use only well watered and maintained fire-resistant plants in this area.
Second: Look Up! Make sure your gutters and roof are clean. This can help protect your home from igniting from embers.
Third: Stay Informed. The Ashland wildfire hotline (541-552-2490), Citizen Alert, and 1700 AM Ashland Emergency Radio are great resources to know about during a wildfire event. You have to register your cell phone with Citizen Alert if that is how you want to be notified of an emergency. Land lines are already included, but really, are you planning on being at home during a wildfire? You never know, so take the 5 minutes to register your cell phone number! For wildfires outside the Ashland city limits, check out the Oregon Department of Forestry blog swofire.blogspot.com. It is full of updates on local fires.
Fourth: Know Firewise. You may not be planting now, but before you do, check out the host of resources regarding fire-resistant plants and construction materials available on ashlandfirewise.org. The new OSU Extension Fire-Resistant Privacy Screening publication is available there, as well as other plant lists, Firewise Tips, grant information, and additional resources. Our Facebookpage has some great photos and other tips found nowhere else! Like it to see what’s new!
Fifth: Be careful with fire. Know fire season restrictions that apply to you.
The smoky skies outside are a daily reminder that we live in wildfire country. We all share the responsibility for being prepared for a wildfire. Have you done everything you can to be Firewise?
As always, Ashland Fire & Rescue is here to help you with grants, information, and a free wildfire safety home evaluation service to residents of Ashland.
Wishing you a safe summer,
Ali True/Firewise Communities Coordinator
City of Ashland / Ashland Fire & Rescue
455 Siskiyou Boulevard Ashland, OR 97520
541-552-2231