A $3.5 million Community Wildfire Defense Grant was awarded to Deschutes County by the U.S. Forest Service. The CWDG grant provides funds for fuel mitigation projects and community education outreach in South County over the next five-years. Funds will be utilized in the area served by the La Pine Rural Fire Protection District in order to support wildfire education, workshops, fuel mitigation projects along 100 miles of ingress/egress routes, and staffing of a dedicated fire prevention coordinator for South County.
UDRC will serve as a contractor with Deschutes County to implement the Defensible Space Reimbursement and Low-income Defensible Space programs. The UDRC programs will open for new applications after contract agreements with U.S. Forest Service and Deschutes County have been approved. The 2026 programs opening date will be announced on the UDRC Website and Email List.
BLM Good Neighbor Grant
The Deschutes County Natural Resources Program was awarded a $275,000 Good Neighbor Grant from the Bureau of Land Management. The grant will award up to $25,000 to three communities each year for fuel reduction work over a three-year period. The department plans to retain $50,000 in order to treat county-owned property. Grant application information will be published on the UDRC Website and Email list when available.
Wildfire Preparedness Fairs
Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026, 3-5pm
Location: La Pine High School, 51622 Coach Road, La Pine
Date: Thursday, April 16, 2026, 12-2pm
Location: SHARC, 57250 Overlook Road, Sunriver
The fair is free to attend and will feature giveaways, presentations and tables with important safety information on topics such as:
- Protecting your home before the fire occurs
- Preparing for an evacuation with your family (including pets!)
- Staying healthy when there are high levels of smoke
- Navigating wildfire insurance
- Grant opportunities to help keep you and your neighborhood prepared
For questions and other events, please email Heather Miller, Oregon State Fire Marshal Fire Risk Reduction Specialist.
Fire Free Yard Debris Disposal Dates
Knott Landfill, 61050 SE 27th St., Bend:
May 15-May 24, 7am-4:30pm
SW Transfer Station, 54580 Hwy. 97, La Pine:
June 5-6, June 8-13, 8am-4pm
Project Wildfire Neighborhood Coalition Meeting
Date: Thursday, April 16, 2026
Location: SHARC, 57250 Overlook Road, Sunriver
12-1pm: LA Post-Fire Research, presented by Evan Sluder, Research Scientist, Insurance Inst. for Business and Home Safety
1:15-2:30pm: PWNC Meeting
Own Your Zone
Wildfires happen naturally in Oregon’s forests. They’ve threatened our community before, and they will again. That’s why we encourage everyone to ‘Own Your Zone’ and help protect homes and neighborhoods by creating defensible space.
Own Your Zone: First Five Feet provides information on simple steps you can take to protect their homes from wildfire. Watch Deputy Fire Marshal Melissa Steele as she walks through a wildfire risk assessment.
Wildfire Resistant Building Standards
The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners has approved new building standards for unincorporated areas of the county to address the growing threat of wildfires. The regulations, taking effect April 1, require all new homes and accessory structures to be built with fire resistant material. Click here for more information.
OSU Eastside Forest Management Webinars
A series of web-based presentations on management of Oregon’s dry-side forests. We’ll start with some foundational concepts then take deeper dives into considerations for individual forest types and tree species.
Thursday evenings, 6 to 7:30pm, by Zoom, every other week through April 2. (March 5 and 19, April 2.) Click here to register for the webinars. Click here for webinar resources and video recordings.
