“The Bear Creek Greenway right now, it’s status is a very tough issue,” said John Vial, director of parks at Jackson County.
Jackson County, along with it’s cities, are all pushing for advanced fire defense along the greenway in wake of the devastating Almeda Fire.
He says the situation with the greenway is ever changing and very complex.
But in certain conditions, like September 8th, it may be a moot point.
“The problem is with a fire that’s being pushed by 45 mile per hour winds, you almost cant make those fire breaks big enough.”
But Vial said those conversations are happening.
“This fire unfortunately does provide us a great opportunity to see how to manage that in the future. And I can guarantee you those discussions are occurring and will continue to occur.”
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department said fuel breaks were placed in North and South Medford in the Spring.
It said they weren’t used to fight the Almeda Fire, but they serve more than one purpose.
“Using the fuel breaks… These are 12 and 15 feet wide in some places so using them as a road almost for us to get in or emergency services to get in. If there’s a medical emergency, these are for others to use as well,” says Sheriff’s Deputy Noah Strohmeyer.
When it comes to public safety, the sheriff’s department said working with local fire departments is one of the many keys to success.
It said the sensitive issue of homelessness is another reason why fuel breaks would be a good thing for the community.
“That area is where we don’t want them to be for safety and legal reasons, giving them fewer places to hide, essentially.”
He continues, “We can give them the resources to get in a better position… While at the same time we’re taking care of the environmental factor and we’re keeping fire danger down.”
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.