MEDFORD, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Forestry plans on spending $1.8 million on seven fuel reduction projects in Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, and Curry Counties.
ODF said the money is a large share of the $5 million that was granted by the Oregon Legislative Emergency Board.
‘The funds from the Emergency Board provide the state with an incredible opportunity to bring together public and private groups to complete some critical fuels mitigation work in advance of the 2021 fire season,” said Oregon State Forester Peter Daugherty. “This is shared stewardship in action. When we work together, we can treat more acres across ownership boundaries and have a greater impact on fire resiliency in communities and forests throughout the state.”
With last year’s fire season ODF told NBC5 News it’s doing all they can do to prepare.
“We have seen so much devastation in the past fire season, there’s a lot of clean-up work to do. A lot of this funding is gonna go to making sure that we have fuel reduction in the area that we need it,” said Natalie Weber.
According to ODF, the projects will reduce fuels for wildfires around Ashland, Gold Hill, Klamath Falls, Lakeview, Rogue River, Wimer and the Bear Creek Valley. There are also three projects in the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest, two in the Fremont-Winema National Forest and one in the Gilchrist State Forest.
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