Ashland Wildfire Mitigation Project

Ashland from afar

"Defensible space and a healthy forest are not mutually exclusive."

Ashland's setting, history of wildfires, and increasingly long, hot, and dry summers put us at high fire risk each year. In 2018, the entire City of Ashland was designated as a Wildfire Hazard Zone

Ashland Fire and Rescue and the City of Ashland were awarded a $3 million Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant in 2021 as a part of its Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program. This grant aimed to create wildfire-defensible space around 1,100 homes throughout the city. The objective of the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program is to reduce overall risk to the population and structures from future hazard events as well as reduce reliance on federal funding from future disasters. Specifically, the purpose of this PDM project is to slow the spread of wildfire within the City of Ashland and reduce the likelihood of wildfire impacts on people and property.

As of June 1st, 2025, no new projects are being initiated under this grant project. 

Defensible Space

Defensible space is the buffer you create between a building on your property and the grass, trees, shrubs, or any wildland area that surrounds it.

Managing the vegetation around your home plays an important role in reducing the risk of losing your home to wildfire by allowing firefighters to safely defend it in the event of a fire. By managing the vegetation around your property, you can significantly reduce the risk of losing your home

During large wildfire events, with the likelihood of only a limited number of resources being available for home protection in many neighborhoods, defensible space can increase an individual home's chances of surviving without firefighter intervention.

Home Ignition Zones

Limiting the amount of flammable vegetation, choosing fire-resistant building materials and construction techniques, along periodic exterior maintenance in the three home ignition zones - increases the chances that your home will survive a wildfire when exposed to embers and/or a surface fire.

  • Immediate Zone extends zero to five feet from structures, including the building itself, and should be completely free of combustibles.
  • Intermediate Zone begins five feet from your house and extends 30 feet away. The most aggressive clearance is required closest to the structure. "Lean, Clean &Green" limb trees 6ft or 1/3 of height. Create adequate between shrubs.
  • Extended Zone lies beyond the home defense zone, extending at least 100 feet from the house or to your property line. Greater defense zone widths may be necessary if your home is on a steep slope or in a windswept exposure. Basic maintenance, removal of dead vegetation

Before Work Project

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After Work Project

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What kind of work did this grant project reimburse?

  • Remove standing dead and dying vegetation, except vegetation that is ecologically beneficial and can be safely preserved.
  • Remove all bark mulch, stored wood, and dry leaves and needles that have accumulated within five feet of buildings.
  • Remove all vegetation (trees and shrubs) listed on the City's Prohibited Flammable Plant List within five feet of buildings or decks (except significant trees).
  • Existing trees that are also on the city's Prohibited Flammable Plant List would be maintained so that there are:
    • 10-foot horizontal clearance from any chimney outlet
    • 10-foot vertical clearance from the furthest extension of all buildings
    • At least 10 feet between the outermost limbs between canopies, at mature size
  • Prune fire-resistant trees to ensure they do not touch any part of a structure including, but not limited to, roofs, eaves, and decks.
  • Separate all existing shrubs on the city's Prohibited Flammable Plant List by a minimum of two times the shrub's mature height.
  • Remove all flammable shrubs from underneath the drip line of trees.
  • Prune tree limbs to create spacing between understory shrubs and the lowest tree limbs so that the clear space is at least three times the height of the shrub.

Defensible Space Treatment Prescription

The Defensible Space Treatment Prescription is applied to each participating property to create an individualized treatment plan depending on individual property circumstances. Treatment plans may be comprised of all of the above listed activities, or just a few if only specific things need to be done.

Focus on Flammable species (Arbor vitae, juniper, cypress)

Ornamental conifers such as Arborvitae, juniper varieties, cypress varieties, and a few others are extremely flammable trees and shrubs. They contain volatile oils and waxes in their foliage and accumulate dead materials within the plant. Many firefighters refer to these plants as "little green gas cans" that can be easily ignited from burning embers or direct flame contact. When they burn, they generate enough heat to ignite nearby vegetation and your home. Some native southwest Oregon plants such as manzanita, wedge leaf ceanothus, buckbrush, and a few others, also fall into this highly flammable plant category. There are many landscaping alternatives to these little green gas cans to use near your home. Combinations of low-growing deciduous shrubs, herbaceous flowers, and ground cover plants are far less likely to generate enough heat to ignite your home or surrounding vegetation. This grant can help subsidize the costs for removing flammable species, dead vegetation, debris, and bark mulch and improving vegetation spacing. 

This grant does NOT reimburse for the installation of new plantings or landscaping. 

More information on fire-resistant landscapes can be found here on the webpage Fire Resistant Plants.

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Map of Properties with highest Wildfire Risk

Map of Properties with the highest wildfire risk