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MONDAY February 23, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels December 16, 2003 Money helps landowners clean up, avoid fines By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings Ashland Fire & Rescue has received a $250,000 grant to help private property owners pay for the thinning of trees and brush to reduce wildfire risk on their land. The National Fire Plan funding comes as landowners face tightening state requirements to reduce wildfire risk or be liable for up to $100,000 in fire suppression costs. Due to the passage of Senate Bill 360 by the Oregon Legislature in 1997, if a wildfire starts on untreated private land and burns through an area that should have been thinned onto surrounding properties, the landowner may be held liable for suppression costs beyond the costs of an initial attack, said Brian Ballou, an Oregon Department of Forestry public information officer based in Prineville. "Quite a few people who will be affected by the law actually live outside the city limits of Ashland," he said. "Ashland is one of the hot spots." A total of $217,000 will be used to treat land in the urban-wildlands interface outside the Ashland city limits, and the remaining $33,000 will be available for land inside the city limits, according to Chris Chambers, grant coordinator for Ashland Fire & Rescue. The law affects landowners living in the hills above Ashland, along the Old Siskiyou Highway and in the Green Springs Area east of town, as well as other areas in Jackson County, Ballou said. Beginning in January, 452 property owners inside Ashland and 1,400 property owners in the greater Ashland area will begin receiving letters from ODF explaining that their land falls in the designated interface area affected by Senate Bill 360, according to Ballou and Chambers. ODF will begin holding a series of informal meetings likely in late January where landowners can ask questions and learn how to meet the requirements of the bill, Ballou said. A formal public hearing probably will occur in February or March, he said. Following the public input process, ODF again will send out official letters that include a property evaluation form and a self-certification form. Property owners have two years from the receipt of the official letters to fill out and send in their certification, or face liability after that time, according to Ballou. Property must be recertified every five years, if it is sold or if a new structure is built, he said. Ashland Fire & Rescue will host a workshop on March 6 in Ashland to help property owners understand the bill and learn about fire safety, thinning of trees and brush, appropriate landscaping and house construction and related topics, according to Chambers. While the implementation of the bill may cause fear among some landowners, Chambers said it provides an opportunity for people to help protect their homes and land by creating a thinned, defensible space where firefighters can work. "It allows firefighters space to put out the fire," he said. Eligible homeowners can do the work themselves or find and hire their own contractor and receive reimbursement for some or all of the work through the city-administered grant program if rates are within specifications, according to Chambers. After a bidding process, the City of Ashland also contracted with Lomakatsi Restoration Project to thin property of landowners who want to use the organization's services, Chambers said. The Ashland-based organization has helped pioneer ecologically sensitive thinning practices. Among other steps to reduce wildfire hazard, homeowners should clean up needles, leaves and other highly flammable fine litter; thin brush fields to eliminate a continuous area of fuels; thin trees if necessary; cut the lowest limbs from trees to help stop ground fires from crowning; install metal screens on vents and beneath decks; move woodpiles away from structures and consider nonflammable roofing materials. Both ODF and Ashland Fire & Rescue offer free home consultations to identify problem spots. "I'm happy to consult with landowners about landscaping, shake roofs, woodpile placement and other issues," Chambers said. After receiving a $225,000 grant in 2001, Ashland Fire & Rescue helped landowners treat 88 acres on 80 properties. Chambers hopes for similar success with the latest $250,000 grant. Interested landowners should call Chambers at 552-2066. More information about reducing wildfire risk and the designated interface zone is available on the City of Ashland's Web site at ashland.or.us. Click on Map Center on the left side. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: A new improved archive search is coming! Look for it in mid-February! .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams