Fire officials urge Redmond homeowners to ‘harden’ houses, use defensible space; $75,000 outreach grant available

Tom Mooney, fire marshal, and regional wildfire experts told Redmond councilors and residents that preparing homes and neighborhoods is the most realistic way to reduce loss from wildland fire.

Heather Miller, regional fire risk reduction specialist for the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office, said “it’s not a matter of if. It’s when” wildfire reaches communities in Central Oregon and urged residents to focus first on things nearest their houses that embers could ignite.

The briefing reviewed wildfire science and “home hardening” steps to reduce ignition risk — measures officials said act as a practical first line of defense while broader landscape treatments continue. Julia Johnson of the Oregon Department of Forestry summarized how topography, wind and fuels control fire behavior and said embers frequently cause homes to ignite even when the flaming front passes.

Why this matters: presenters emphasized that wildfire in Central Oregon is a recurring, landscape-scale hazard and that households and neighborhoods can reduce their loss and help emergency responders by altering fuels, building materials and immediate…