The Fire Department has scheduled a community clean-up project to help clean up some properties with the help of the Oregon Department of Forestry.

Below you will find the specific requirements to participate in this clean-up project:  Please follow them.

By April 30th please put all your slash clean-up materials on the edge of your property next to the road.  On May 4, 5, and 6 ODF will come along and chip this pile up if it has been done according to their flyer. You may also take slash brush to the Cold Spings quarry again. Please do not take garbage, tires, trees or tree stumps. No commercial stuff either.

April 30th is the deadline due to we need to know how much needs to be chipped.  

Any questions, call the fire department at 541-205-4934 or email chief@rpfire.com.  If you are physically unable to do this, call us at  the department and we MAY have volunteers that can help you.

Thank you,

Chief Walker-Pope

Piling Slash for Chipping Operations

Chipping can be a very effective method of slash disposal. A layer of chips a few inches deep spread across the ground poses relatively little fire hazard. Chipping results in a neat appearance, and the mulch holds soil moisture, covers exposed soil, and inhibits weed germination. Most of the labor is in dragging the material to the chipper and feeding it by hand. The material also can be piled first and the chipper moved around to each of the piles. Chipping requires fairly level ground and good access, since most chippers are towed by a truck. 

Below are some basic tips to ensure a smooth operation. 

• Only pile clean slash (ex: not created from tractors or blades pushed with dirt, only cut by chainsaws or other shears)
• Piles should not exceed waist height
• All butts of the slash need to be pointing in the same direction (ex: not jackstraw)
• Point the butts towards the main road
• Piles should be in straight rows
• If there is too much slash to keep rows at waist height,  start another row directly behind. Keeping in mind that the butts  are pointing in the same direction and towards the road.
• If material is too large, cut into smaller pieces (ex: smaller trees need to be cut into manageable sizes, not to exceed 6’’ DBH, same with larger brush and branches)

A notification to your local Oregon Department of Forestry, Stewardship Forester is required when doing any fuels reduction, logging related activities or Power- Driven Machinery Permits. Landowners can file notifications online at https://ferns.odf.oregon.gov/E-Notification/