February 2, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Jackson County News Media
OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY - SOUTHWEST OREGON DISTRICT
5286 Table Rock RD - Central Point, OR 97502
Contact: Brian Ballou, (541) 664-3328
* MEETING NOTICE *
JACKSON COUNTY FORESTLAND-URBAN INTERFACE CLASSIFICATION
COMMITTEE MEETS FEBRUARY 7
The Jackson County Forestland-Urban Interface Classification Committee
meets Monday, February 7, 9:00 a.m., at the Oregon Department of Forestry,
5286 Table Rock Rd, Central Point. The committee will review testimony
taken at its Feb. 1 public hearing.
The committee focuses on developed urban and suburban lands that
are in areas where potentially destructive wildfires are likely to
occur, and where there is a structural density of at least four dwellings
per 40 acres. Owners of these lands are required to reduce potentially
flammable vegetation around structures and along driveways.
The forestland-urban interface identification and classification
process is described in the Oregon Forestland-Urban Interface Fire
Protection Act. For more information about the committee and the Oregon
Forestland-Urban Interface Fire Protection Act, contact Brian Ballou
at (541) 664-3328. Information is also available online at www.swofire.oregon.gov.
To ensure the broadest range of services to individuals with disabilities,
persons with disabilities requiring special arrangements should contact
ODF’s Medford Unit at 541-664-3328 at least two working days
in advance.
Formatted
copy attached (Adobe Reader)
Related to the above, the Oregon Dept. of Forestry previously
issued the following notice with a schedule for public meetings being
held for the purpose of explaining Jackson County Forestland-Urban
Interface Classification Committee's land identification and classification
process, as part of the implementation of the Oregon Forestland-Urban
Interface Fire Protection Act, often referred to as Senate Bill 360:
December 30, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - SOUTHWEST OREGON NEWS MEDIA
OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY - SOUTHWEST OREGON DISTRICT
5286 Table Rock Rd - Central Point, OR 97502
Contact: Brian Ballou, fire prevention specialist, (541) 665-0662
WILDFIRE PREVENTION LAW PUBLIC MEETINGS SCHEDULED
The Jackson County Forestland-Urban Interface Classification Committee
and the Oregon Department of Forestry have sent letters to more than
13,000 landowners within Jackson county informing them of five public
meetings to be held in January 2011. The meetings are to explain the
land identification and classification process performed by the committee,
as required by the Oregon Forestland-Urban Interface Fire Protection
Act, often referred to as Senate Bill 360.
Here are the dates and locations of the public meetings:
• January 11, 6:30 p.m., Historic Ashland Armory, 208 Oak St.,
Ashland
• January 13, 6:30 p.m., Bigham Knoll ballroom, 525 East E St.,
Jacksonville
• January 18, 6:30 p.m., Rogue River High School cafeteria,
1898 East Evans Creek Rd., Rogue River
• January 20, 6:30 p.m., Jackson County Fire District #4, 21200
Hwy 62, Shady Cove
• January 25, 6:30 p.m., North Medford High School performing
arts theater, 1900 North Keene Way Drive, Medford
Following the meetings, the committee will hold a public hearing.
At the hearing, the committee will collect final comment from the
public about its draft findings. The hearing is scheduled for:
• February 1, 1:00 p.m., Jackson County Auditorium, 7520 Table
Rock Rd., White City
The owners of lots affected by the Oregon Forestland-Urban Interface
Fire Protection Act are required to create fuel breaks around their
homes and other structures to make homes and other buildings more
defensible against wildfire. No fuel reduction treatment is required
on unimproved lands.
Fuel reduction treatment around homes has proved effective in protecting
homes against wildfire damage or destruction. Wildfires in 2009 threatened
homes in south Ashland and east Medford, and because of fuel-reduction
treatment around homes firefighters were able to keep losses to a
minimum.
In general, the lands affected by the Act in Jackson County are urban
fringe areas, and rural areas where residential density is at least
four residences per 40 acres.
Maps and a list of the lots included within forestland-urban
interface areas in Jackson County are posted online at www.swofire.oregon.gov,
and are available for review at the Oregon Department of Forestry’s
Medford Unit office at 5286 Table Rock Rd.
The Jackson County Forestland-Urban Interface Classification Committee
reconvened in spring 2010 to review the maps of identified forestland-urban
interface areas created by the 2004 committee. The 2004 committee
identified 12,007 lots within Jackson County’s forestland-urban
interface areas. The 2010 committee increased the number of lots to
13,784, mostly by adding lots around the fringes of existing forestland-urban
interface areas.
The committee also assigns a fire-risk classification to every forestland-urban
interface area, which is composed of a group of residential lots.
The classifications range from “low” to “extreme.”
Most of the forestland-urban interface areas in Jackson County are
classified “extreme” due to the likelihood of wildfires
breaking out in these areas, and the topographic and vegetation characteristics
within these areas which favor aggressive wildfire growth and resistance
to control.
The Oregon Forestland-Urban Interface Fire Protection Act, passed
by the Oregon Legislature in 1997, was implemented in Jackson County
in 2005, at which time landowners were mailed self-certification forms
and detailed information about fuel break requirements. By law, the
identification and classification of lands is to take place every
five years, and new self-certification forms are to be mailed to the
owners of lands within forestland-urban interface areas.
For more information about the Oregon Forestland-Urban Interface
Fire Protection Act, call Brian Ballou, ODF fire prevention specialist,
at (541) 665-0662.
###
Formatted copy attached [linked
here] [PDF file] (Acrobat Reader)
###
Formatted copies of ODF's previous meeting announcements are also
available [PDF file - Acrobat Reader]: September
28th, 2010 and October
26th, 2010.
