Southern Oregon – The Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center is excited to announce the release of our Forest and Fire Toolkit!
The Forest & Fire Toolkit is a ‘one stop shop’ for all the resources residents need to acquaint themselves with the forests of the Siskiyou region. Most importantly, this is a toolkit that will allow residents to prepare their homes for fire season.
“The best time to prepare for wildfire is before the fire starts,” said Alexi Lovechio with the conservation group KS Wild who was the lead editor of the toolkit. “We asked the leading experts and worked with community groups to assemble key information about key agencies and wildfire preparation resources in the Siskiyou region.”
The toolkit includes invaluable resources on how to take part in public and private industrial forest decision-making and insights to gain a better understanding of the role fire plays in these forests. Most importantly, this Toolkit provides information on how to prepare your family, home and community for a wildfire emergency, including:
- How-to guide on preparing your property for wildfire
- Funding opportunities for home defense
- Steps to plan and be ready for a wildfire emergency and evacuation
- Resource directory of national forest districts, fire districts and more!
“This is a busy time for many rural homeowners; getting ready for fire season. From cleaning needles off the roof to thinning your forest, managing the fuels is the key.” said Rich Fairbanks, a local fire professional with over 40 years of experience in fire suppression and forest management. “We should start now, well ahead of the next wildfire.”
Why is this Toolkit important? Rural communities throughout the Siskiyou mountains are surrounded by public and private industrial forest land, and the decisions made in these forests affect everyone living in the watershed.
“This region is also experiencing warmer temperatures, with longer periods of dry weather and drought. Increasing residential development into forestlands places more homes and communities at-risk from wildfire,” said Lovechio. “There is no future free from wildfire, but there are actions we can take to help prepare for the next one.”
The Forest & Fire Toolkit is part of KS Wild’s ongoing efforts to support community adaptation to wildfires and a changing climate. Many partner organizations contributed to the creation of the toolkit including: Lomakatsi Restoration Project, Fairbanks Forest Management, Firesmart Merlin, Smith River Collaborative, Illinois Valley Community Development Association, and A Greater Applegate.
To learn more about the Forest & Fire Toolkit and how to download a copy, check out the KS Wild website: https://www.kswild.org/forest-fire-toolkit.
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