Ashland, Ore, — Several fires have burned across the region this season, but none have reached the level of a “mega fire”, at least not yet.
A mega fire is a fire that is 100,000 acres in size or more.
The last time our region had a mega fire was the Biscuit Fire back in 2002.
Fire experts tell me years of drought since then, have created a perfect breeding ground in forests for another one.
So residents need to be prepared.
“I wouldn’t say we’re nervous, but we are aware of the risk.”
Kate Morse and her husband moved to the hills of Ashland one year ago for the views.
But living there comes with the risk of fire.
“We have water ready, we have fire extinguishers ready.”
With drought affecting the valley over the last several years, fire experts haven’t been able to get rid of as much fuel in the forests as they’d like.
Which the makes the potential for a mega fire, that much greater.
“All of that has grown in and now we have these very homogeneous forests that are ready to support these very large fires.” said Ashland Forest Division Chief, Chris Chambers.
So how do residents stay prepared?
“We’re careful about the combustibility of the plants we plant, we did a lot of limbing before we even moved in” said Morse.
And residents being prepared, in turn, helps firefighters.
“We’re not gonna have enough fire engines to be in everyones drive way, and so home owners need to do their part to protect their homes ahead of time, so we can be more effective.” said Chambers.
For more information on how you can protect your home and become fire wise, go to www.firewise.org
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.