Neighborhoods within the Wildland Urban Interface Zone of Grants Pass, where homes and wildlands mix, have a greater risk of being affected by a wildfire.
Rick McClintock, the Firewise Coordinator for Josephine County, will come out to any home or business in the county to perform a free property assessment and make any recommendations on how to reduce the risk of wildfire.
The purpose of an assessment is educational in nature; residents will not be required to address the recommendations, and McClintock does not issue a report of any kind; he simply looks at a property with the resident or business owner and suggests ways to mitigate fire danger.
During a wildfire, “it’s the ember cast that comes over your house that is the biggest problem,” McClintock said.
According to McClintock, the two main steps people can take to protect their property during a wildfire are to keep roofs and rain gutters free of debris and remove any evergreen shrubs that might be against the building, such as juniper, Arborvitae, and cypress.
McClintock also notes that it’s important to have the numbers of the address readily visible from the street so fire crews can find the property.
In the video below, McClintock explains the process and shows an actual property assessment of a property in an at-risk area.
More information can be found in these links:
What is Firewise?
What is defensible space?
Current Firewise Coordinator for Grants Pass and Josephione County:
Tyson Schultz, 541-450-6212, TSchultz@grantspassoregon.gov