The group currently has about 15 members who regularly attend meetings for information on wildfire mitigation. As a Firewise group, they are eligible for grants that can help them with that. The mission of the SFCC is to help people learn more ways to prevent wildfires from destroying their property. “So it’s been a big learning opportunity.” “I just felt like we just planted ourselves there and we were at the mercy of ourselves to figure out when to leave or not,” Augustyniak says. When the Holiday Farm Fire hit the area, Augustyniak became concerned, and this helped motivate her to establish the group. One of these, the Sunridge Firewise Community Committee near Lowell, was formed in August 2021 by Sunridge resident Kerry Augustyniak. The National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise program helps neighbors organize and take action to protect their homes and community and reduce nearby wildfire risks. Many people have formed local neighborhood and Firewise groups since the fires of September 2020. However, obtaining insurance has been challenging for some. In addition, grants have been issued to help homeowners. This has been reflected through increased education efforts. Since 2020, Oregonians are more aware of measures to protect their homes from wildfires, including fire mitigation actions. This has forced people to take more precautions to protect their property. As the weather has become hotter and drier due to climate change, wildfires have started earlier and become larger than before. The boom in business at Brink Fire Resources is just one example of the changes that have occurred in recent years. People from all walks of life have been renting Brink’s trailers, ranging from ordinary people wanting to protect their homes to large companies and utilities such as EWEB. Before 2020, customers would usually start renting the trailers in early June. Since that disastrous fire, Brink’s trailers have been going out starting in the third week of April, and they are mostly gone by mid-June. “At this point, we’re up to roughly about 60.” These red trailers, which consist of 500-gallon and 600-gallon units, have a monthly rental of $1,000 or $1,150, depending on trailer model and year. “When the Holiday Farm Fire started, we ran about 42 trailers,” Brink explains. These fires caused a surge in business for Brink Fire Resources, as its fire units and trailers became more in demand than ever before. Firefighting on the forest lands cost the department more than $130 million. As of June 30, 2022, the cost for the removal and cleanup of household hazardous waste, hazardous trees, ash and debris was $355 million, the report says.Īccording to the Oregon Department of Forestry, the fires burned 850,000 acres of forests, 11 people died and more than 4,000 homes were destroyed. According to a 2022 report by the Oregon Department of Transportation, “The 2020 Labor Day Wildfires have proven to be the most expensive disaster in Oregon’s history.” In October 2020, Oregon initially estimated a cost of $622 million and the U.S. One of these was the Holiday Farm Fire, which virtually destroyed towns such as Blue River along Highway 126. However, he could never have guessed what would happen after 2020.Īround Labor Day in September 2020, several massive fires hit Oregon. His business has routinely rented out fire suppression trailers, with water tanks, pumps and hoses, to people and companies. Dave Brink has been president of Brink Fire Resources near Creswell for nearly 20 years.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |