Get Ready

Simple tips that make a real difference.

A wildland firefighter walks through low sagebrush beside a home with a lean, open yard, while smoke hangs over the forest beyond.

Your home

Most homes lost to wildfire are lit by embers, not flames. Fix the small spots where embers land.

The first five feet

Start with the strip right around your house. Use rock instead of bark mulch. Keep anything that burns away from the walls.

  • Clean the roof and gutters

    Dry needles catch embers. Clear them every spring. Do it again after the fall needle drop.

  • Screen the vents

    Cover attic and crawlspace vents with 1/8-inch metal mesh. It’s a cheap way to keep embers out.

  • Move the woodpile

    Keep firewood at least 30 feet from your house. Stacked against a wall, it can catch an ember.

  • Mow smart

    Keep grass under 4 inches while it’s green. Once it dries, mow before 10 a.m. Skip hot, windy days.

Watch

Protect your home, zone by zone

Central Oregon Fire Prevention Cooperative

Get a hand

A crew in hard hats and safety vests cuts and piles juniper limbs beside a red-sided house.

Your land

Our forests grew up with fire. A century of stopping every fire left them crowded with fuel.

Without fire

Thinning, pruning, chipping, and grazing cut fuel without a match. On crowded land, this usually comes first.

Leftover slash? Chip it or take it to FireFree.

With fire

Prescribed burns clear out the brush big fires feed on. A few smoky days now beat weeks of wildfire smoke later.

Get burn alerts. Text COFIRE to 888-777.

Watch

A good burn, up close

Oregon Living with Fire

Low flames move through needles under open ponderosa pines while a crew watches. Music only, no narration.
A forester in an orange hard hat walks an open ponderosa pine stand where trees are marked with orange paint.

Get a hand

When fire’s close

Oregon has three evacuation levels: Be Ready, Be Set, Go Now. Learn them now, while it’s calm.

  • Do it today

    Sign up for alerts

    Get your county’s emergency alerts on your phone. It takes two minutes.

    Find your county
  • Level 1

    Be Ready

    Pack the car. Plan two ways out. If you need extra time to leave, go now.

  • Level 2

    Be Set

    Be ready to leave at any moment. If you feel unsafe, go. Don’t wait for another notice.

  • Level 3

    Go Now

    Leave right away. Don’t stop to pack. Stay out until officials say it’s safe.

What to grab

  • Medicine and glasses
  • Phone and charger
  • Important phone numbers
  • IDs and insurance papers
  • Cash and water
  • Snacks for the drive
  • Pets and pet food
  • N95 masks for smoke

Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.

Stay out of the way

  • Leave early. Fire engines need the same road you do.
  • Don’t drive in for a look. It blocks crews.
  • Ground the drone. If you fly, firefighting aircraft can’t.
  • Follow your county. They give the evacuation orders.
Watch

Evacuation basics

Project Wildfire

Go deeper

Who’s already doing it

These local groups have been at this for years. They’re ready to help.

Watch

Before every prescribed fire, we do the work

Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project

Help paying for it

Thinning land or replacing a roof costs real money. Grants and cost-share programs can help.

Find wildfire funding

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