Wildfire Community Preparedness Day is a national Firewise campaign to raise awareness and reduce risks from wildfires. Jacksonville is vulnerable to wildfires due to many homes being located in close proximity to woodlands and forests. Because of severe drought and upcoming extremely hot weather, this summer and early fall promise to be a bad year for severe wildfires.
Jacksonville’s Wildfire Community Preparedness Day is Saturday, May 6, 2023, 9am-2pm in the D Street Parking lot. Residents of Jacksonville may bring branches and other vegetation to be chipped and disposed of by the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). Two dumpsters will be available, one for small vegetation debris, and one for debris that needs to be chipped. Members of the Jacksonville Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) coordinate and manage the event in conjunction with the Jacksonville Fire Department.
Jacksonville has 32 Firewise neighborhoods: Westmont, Gold Terrace, Royal Mobile Estates, Vineyard View, Vintage, G Street, Valley Lane, Jackson/Creekside, North/South 3rd, Britt Gardens Neighborhood, Rich Gulch, Timber Ridge, Applegate/Graham, Hangman Way, Pheasant Meadows, Hill Street, Brookview, Wagon Trail, Gold Terrace Heights, Whippleville, Applegate Fireflies JVille East, Beekman Square, Fire Station, Ponderosa Way, S 4th St., Nunan Square, Laurelwood Drive, Stagecoach, Chainsaw, Coachman, and Daisy Creek.
Please take advantage of this opportunity to dispose of branches, dead trees, and dead shrubs found on your property. Removing dead vegetation and debris, removing/trimming flammable trees and shrubs in close proximity to your home and pruning tree limbs so that the lowest branches are 6 to 10 feet above the ground will help protect your home from wildfire.
If you have any questions, please contact Linda Davis, Jacksonville Firewise Coordinator, at lmdavis425@gmail.com, or by phone at (541) 690-5688 or stop by your Fire Department for more information.