Bend, OR – A small nonprofit organization in Sandy, Oregon, is taking proactive steps to address the growing wildfire threat to rural communities along the west slope of Mount Hood. With wildfires burning a record 1.9 million acres in Oregon last year, the risks are higher than ever, particularly in areas such as the Highway 26 corridor, which is surrounded by the expansive 1.1 million-acre Mount Hood National Forest.
AntFarm, a local nonprofit, has launched its Community Wildfire Defense Program to help reduce the risk of catastrophic fires in these vulnerable areas. With funding from state and federal sources, the program aims to assist communities by creating wildfire defense plans, offering fire-risk assessments to property owners, and providing hands-on mitigation efforts like tree cutting and brush clearing. These efforts are essential for protecting homes and businesses in areas threatened by fast-moving wildfires.
The program is particularly focused on reducing combustible materials, such as dead trees and dense brush, which can fuel a wildfire’s spread. The members of AntFarm’s tree-cutting crew are on the frontlines of this work. In neighborhoods where trees are often tightly packed together, the crew works to clear away vegetation that can act as a “ladder” for fires. In the event of a wildfire, interconnected branches in the forest canopy allow fire to spread quickly, escalating into a crown fire that is difficult to contain.
Felling large trees is a dangerous and intricate task. AntFarm’s crews must navigate the challenge of cutting down towering Douglas firs in densely populated areas, where the risk of trees crashing onto homes or powerlines is high. To reduce the danger, crews use ropes to carefully guide trees down, especially when they are cutting near the tops of the trees, where the trunks are thinner and more unstable.
In addition to professional tree-cutting crews, AntFarm also provides training for young adults through its partnership with LeafcutterPNW. Youth participants learn vital forestry and wildfire prevention skills, starting with manual labor tasks like using chainsaws and loading logs into chippers. As they gain experience, participants progress to tree climbing and, eventually, the most advanced and hazardous task of topping trees.
The program offers its fire mitigation services at no cost to low-income, elderly, and disabled residents in high-risk areas who are unable to carry out the work themselves. This service is especially important in regions like Mount Hood, where many residents live in rural, forested neighborhoods with limited access to resources for wildfire preparedness.
As Oregon continues to face an increasingly dangerous wildfire season, AntFarm’s efforts are a critical part of the region’s strategy to reduce risk and protect communities. Through a combination of hands-on mitigation work, youth training, and community support, the nonprofit is working to safeguard the future of rural Oregon in the face of an escalating wildfire threat.
