BEND, Ore. (AP) - Programs that collect yard debris are thriving as Deschutes County residents respond to warnings of a potentially early and prolonged wildfire season.
The Bend Bulletin reports (https://bit.ly/1K8cjmm ) that so far this May, the county’s FireFree program has collected 3,300 dump truck loads of pine needles, branches, brush and tree limbs.
Participation at Bend collection sites increased by 26 percent this year.
The program urges residents to remove potential wildfire fuel in a 30- to 100-foot buffer around homes and the county will haul away the debris for free.
Deschutes County forester Ed Keith says people are on high alert after the 2014 Two Bulls Fire, which came within 2 miles of Bend city limits and burned nearly 7,000 acres to the city’s west.
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Information from: The Bulletin, https://www.bendbulletin.com
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