After homeowners received letters assessing their property’s fire risk, questions remain about the next steps in building fire resilience.

A new wildfire risk map has drawn questions from Oregon homeowners, reports Tiffany Olin for KTVL. Olin writes, “people across Southern Oregon have received letters in the mail from the Department of Forestry classifying their property as high or extreme risk and within the wildland-urban interface.” But the letters have raised questions since they don’t indicate how homeowners should respond. Derek Gasperini, Public Affairs Officer for Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), said for now, homeowners just need to be aware of the risk to their home.
According to the article, “The Oregon State Fire Marshal will be passing defensible space codes and other regulations by December of this year that are expected to go into effect by April of 2023.” Gasperini said grants will be available to help homeowners pay for defensible space upgrades, which will be required as part of Senate Bill 762, “passed as a response to the 2020 Labor Day fires across the state.”
Planetizen recently covered a proposal to build a community-wide fire perimeter in Paradise, California. The proposal is in part an acknowledgement that fire protection measures can be expensive or impractical for renters, mobile home owners, and other residents in diverse housing types.
FULL STORY: Oregon's new wildfire risk map sparks questions among Southern Oregonians

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Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

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San Francisco’s Muni Ridership Grew in 2024
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Colorado Lawmakers Move to Protect BRT Funding
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Safe Streets Funding in Jeopardy
The Trump administration is specifically targeting bike infrastructure and other road safety projects in its funding cuts.
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