The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Residents of Camp Sherman are eligible to apply for grant funding to reduce wildfire risk around homes. Grant funding is made available through a partnership with Jefferson County, Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC), and the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District. Eligible residents will be offered a flat-rate reimbursement of $500 for treating the land around their homes to Firewise and the Oregon Forestland-Urban Interface Fire Protection Act (SB360) standards.

The overall goal of this project is to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire to homes in high-risk areas by reducing hazardous fuels on private lands.

The goal of SB360 is to minimize fire danger in subdivisions and neighborhoods and make firefighting safer and more effective. Information and tips about the standards for fire prevention and creating defensible space around your home are available in the Living with Wildfire in Jefferson County handbook which can be found online at www.lakechinookfireandrescue.org/RSG/LivingWithFire_Wildfire-PrepPlan_web.pdf. Fire chiefs will be responsible for assuring that the standards have been met prior to dispensing funds.

Funding and/or technical assistance is available to assist homeowners/landowners with completing defensible-space projects. The fire officials are trained evaluators of the SB360 rules and will assess and certify properties as requested.

Applications are being accepted now. All grants must be completed by December 1, 2021. To learn more about eligibility and view the application, landowners can contact the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District at 541-540-0771, or visit https://www.coic.org/emergency-preparedness/jeff-co-fuels/ or contact Shelby Knight at [email protected] 541-548-9535.