Mandating State guidelines and industry best practices will increase our community’s resilience against wildfires. Bend is a dry, mixed conifer environment that is very prone to wildfire. Wildfire has devastated the Bend community in the past, and it is our shared community responsibility to maintain properties within city limits to minimize the destruction that could be caused by wildfire in the future.

Healthy plants are less likely to ignite than dry or dead vegetation, but all plants can burn under the right condition, and some are more flammable than others. We recommend that you maintain your landscape regularly and remove dead plant material, keeping your plants healthy, and that you create defensible space around your home by clearing vegetation abutting structures and using non-combustible materials like rock beds as opposed to bark or mulch. For more information on how you can harden your home against wildfire, visit bendoregon.gov/own-your-zone.

No. The expectation is that there are no limbs or vegetation located under the eaves of a home, or overhanging a structure, making it harder for fire to travel from vegetation to structures.

No. We ask that ground cover be maintained. This is done by removing dead materials such as pine needles and pinecones and removing woodchips and bark. We also recommend removing highly flammable ladder fuels such as bitter brush.

New developments that are identified as having higher fire risk during the planning process are held to a stricter development standard, such as building structures to be more fire resistant and requiring different landscaping than older, more traditional developments. For those in developments that are built with density, the expectation is that property owners maintain the vegetation within five feet of their home to the standards outlined in the code.

Most homeowner’s association standards are aligned with the City’s Flammable Vegetation Code. Some association standards are even more restrictive than the code, which is within their prerogative. We recommend that property owners follow the City code and bring any conflicting standards to their homeowner’s association board of directors for correction. We encourage homeowner’s associations to proactively respond to violations of the Flammable Vegetation Code within their communities, before filing a complaint with the City.  

Firewise community requirements are less restrictive than the flammable vegetation code requirements. Code Enforcement has worked with many of these communities to reduce even more flammable vegetation, and they are often not the source of complaints submitted to Code Enforcement.

Code enforcement staff has already proactively inspected nearly 25% of all tax lots within the City limits over the last few years. These efforts will continue with the primary focus being on complaints submitted by community members. Staff will respond to complaints by first verifying that the property in question is not in compliance with the code, then they will reach out to the property owner and/or tenant in writing to make them aware of the code requirements and provide them an opportunity to come into compliance before any fines are issued. Voluntary compliance is the goal, and historically about 97% of code complaints are resolved without fines through community education and working with staff.

Yes. This code applies to all properties in the Bend city limits. Both organizations have historically been great partners with the City of Bend Code Enforcement staff to maintain their properties according to code.

No. Fuel breaks can include vegetation, including trees, that is maintained. This means that the limbs should be cut up to provide space between the ground and healthy vegetation, which can prevent fire from traveling upward into a tree canopy.