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Resident urges city to press mill-site owners on brush abatement
Summary
Timothy Bailey told the council the privately owned mill site across from his property is overgrown with blackberry and noxious weeds, which he called a major wildfire hazard; councilors said staff would contact owners and pursue available private-property grant resources.
Timothy Bailey, a Westfir resident, told the council the mill site across the street from his Hemlock neighborhood lot has not been mowed in more than a decade and that invasive blackberries and accumulated dead canes present a significant fire hazard. "It puzzles me why...all of High Prairie...is considered moderate risk but we're high," Bailey said, questioning aspects of the state hazard-classification mapping and arguing the mill site is an ignored hazard.
Mayor Watson and staff acknowledged the concern and said the state mapping combines geography, climate and vegetation, pointing to Oregon State University modeling used by the state fire marshal. Councilor and staff members said they had contacted a mill-site owner and provided a contact at the Southwest Forest Collaborative who can help secure defensible-space grant resources for private owners. The council committed to follow up on ownership details and potential enforcement or incentive options, but no enforcement action was taken at the meeting.
