A fire in north Bend, near Juniper Ridge, was reported on Aug. 2 and grew to about 20 acres. The fire prompted several firefighting crews to come out and work in unified command to swiftly stop the fire’s progression by 8 that night.
A new grant, if awarded, could help implement community wildfire risk reduction efforts on Deschutes County land, focusing on the Juniper Ridge area off of Hwy 97.
Deschutes County Commissioners approved an application for a risk reduction grant through the Oregon State Fire Marshall Office on July 29, which would supply $75,000. The grant will help the County focus risk reduction in an area that is high priority and yet to receive any reduction treatments.
A new grant, if awarded, could help implement community wildfire risk reduction efforts on Deschutes County land, focusing on the Juniper Ridge area off of Hwy 97.
Deschutes County Commissioners approved an application for a risk reduction grant through the Oregon State Fire Marshall Office on July 29, which would supply $75,000. The grant will help the County focus risk reduction in an area that is high priority and yet to receive any reduction treatments.
The Juniper Ridge area consists of about 1,350 acres of City of Bend and Deschutes County property bordering north Bend. The area, which is primarily undeveloped, has the highest concentration of encampments in Deschutes County and has had a significant number of human-caused fire ignitions over the years. There have been 14 wildfire responses so far in 2024 and 48 since 2020, according to a County staff report.
Courtesy Deschutes county Sheriff's Office
The City of Bend Fire Department is wrapping up an investigation into the cause of the Mile Marker 132 Fire.
“This was an area that we’ve been looking at for some time to try and do some work in to reduce the fire risk out there,” said Kevin Moriarty, Deschutes County Forester. “It’s really funding-dependent, which is probably why we haven’t done much work out there, as least as of now,” said Moriarty.
The County is considering treatments on roads and routes in Juniper Ridge, due to a high potential of fire starts from those roads. It also plans to create defensible space around encampments, making sure if any fires were to happen out there, that they are not spreading to the nearby neighborhoods, which border the area on the east and south side. The work will focus on limbing and brush removal.
It hopes to treat about 55 encampments in Juniper Ridge and create fuel breaks to prevent potential fire spreading to neighboring properties. As Moriarty said, “$75,000 is not a lot of money when it comes to doing fuel reductions, so we really had to hone in on some of the primary treatments we can do out there.”
This year, Deschutes County has agreed to put $30,000 toward risk reduction efforts on its land. The City of Bend also pledged $50,000 toward improvements in the area. If the County doesn’t receive the grant, it will likely proceed with some of the County and City funding.
While Jessica Neujahr with the Oregon Department of Forestry attributed the fire season to a combination of both increased human starts and weather, the majority of the fires in Oregon, so far, have been human-caused.
This year, 422 out of 510 fires on Oregon Department of Forest lands were human-caused. In 2023, it was 503 out of 551. In Central Oregon, 144 out of 176 fires were caused by a human. However, unfavorable conditions and weather events have also contributed to an above average fire season, according to Moriarty.
“We had a cold, wet spring that kind of increased vegetation and then it dried out really quickly,” said Moriarty. “That combination usually sets us up for a pretty bad fire season and we’re seeing that all across Oregon right now, a huge uptick in human-caused fires.”
With an increase in fire risk, hot temperatures, Red Flag Warnings and forecasted lightning, the Oregon State Fire Marshal announced on Aug. 2 it will pre-position two structural task forces in Central Oregon, sending in 26 firefighters, eight engines and two water tenders.
The call to pre-position resources, which is a tool that came out of 2021 Senate Bill 762, is to add capacity for initial attack on any new fires. The task force will be present for 72 hours and could be extended for up to two weeks if needed.
“With the immense wildfire activity we have seen so far this summer, we are taking this proactive step to prepare for yet another increased threat of new fire starts,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said in a press release.
After Friday's fire, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that nearly $1 million will be available to Oregon for the mitigation of future wildfires. According to Moriarty, the County will likely apply for the funding to help with fuel treatments.
Wildfire risk-reduction efforts, Moriarty said, apply to everyone across the Country and are incredibly important during this time of the year. He advised people to be cognizant about recreating – not parking in dry grass, not dragging chains if they are towing a trailer and being extra careful if they have a campfire.
