Fire-resiliency measures put in place after critical lessons learned from 2020 Almeda Fire

Two Rogue Valley manufactured home parks that have undertaken work to become more fire resilient seek recognition as Firewise communities. 

Creekside Estates in Phoenix lost all but 10 of its 58 units when the Almeda Fire struck on Sept. 8, 2020. San George Estates in south Medford was in the fire’s pat but was spared when winds shifted.

Both parks are working with local fire agencies and have received help from the Firebrand Resiliency Collective, which formed after the Almeda Fire.  

“It’s a recognition program. Firewise is 100 percent voluntary,” said Nikki Orlaineta, fire adapted community coordinator with Firebrand. “Voluntary measures are taken by the residents themselves. People tend to do the right things for their own homes and their neighbors.”

Orlaineta assisted both groups with preparing submissions to Firewise, which is run by the National Fire Protective Association. She expects both communities will receive the designation.

At San George Estate, several fire-resiliency projects have taken place, said Ginger Willis, on-site manager.

Huge trees behind the office were taken out and replaced by a fire-resistant, stucco-covered wall. Chain link fencing was installed where wooden fences existed before. The park has a number of trees, but they were trimmed extensively to raise the canopy.  

Removal of tree limbs in San George Estates will make it easier for emergency services vehicles to access the park, Orlaineta said.

San George Estates will receive assistance for an upcoming effort from the Northwest Youth Corp, and the Oregon Department of Forestry. It’s the next step in a three-year plan submitted with the Firewise application. Firebrand provided a list of communities seeking Firewise status to the Youth Corp, which selected San George Estates to receive assistance.

A meeting will be held for all residents at San George in April to discuss the next project. “We’ll be communicating with the residents to get some of the extra flammable vegetation off the property,” Willis said.

NYC and ODF will help remove vegetation by the homes. ODF will come in first to remove some of the larger trees. Youth Corp will then clean up the site and remove smaller vegetation. There is no charge for the services. The biggest concern is vegetation within 5 feet of structures, Orlaineta said.

“We have a lot of great help coming in so we are really lucky,” Willis said. 

A park committee usually meets weekly to look at the resilience work. San George Estates paid for the tree trimming, construction of the wall and replacement of a wood fence on the property line with the neighboring Glenwood Mobile Home Park.

With the extensive devastation that took place, Creekside Estates in Phoenix is working with a cleaner slate to create a much more fire-resilient community.

After cleanup from Almeda, homes returned slowly, but now there are just 10 spaces remaining.

An emphasis has been placed on creating a lot of hardscapes and hardening features with the new homes, said Mark Hoey, on-site manager. 

That includes things like gravel and rock yards, having all homes on block foundations, making sure decks are constructed of fire-resistant materials and screening off areas under decks so embers can’t penetrate. 

Blocks are used extensively in various applications. Trees are surrounded by circles of block in some yards. A large block wall was constructed between the park and its neighbor, Leave Your Mark rock and landscape supplies, located on Highway 99.

But the park is not all rock and block. Installation of Synlawn, a synthetic grass that is fire resistant, has been taking place. At one residence, what looks like driftwood sits right next to the home, but it’s made out of fire-resistant material. A few residents still have wood fences, and there are some homes where shrubs and trees are next to the structures.

Creekside Estates also is receiving assistance from local fire agencies. Jackson County Fire District 5 did a walkthrough of the park for assessment.

Earlier this year, ODF sent a nine-person crew that spent five hours removing invasive blackberries from a small creek behind the Creekside Estates community center. ODF does projects in Firewise communities because there are plans to maintain the benefits, Orlaineta said.

Anderson Creek flows through the middle of the park. The Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District has plans to rehabilitate the entire creek. That will include removal of invasive plants and shrubs in the creek bed where it runs through the park.

Education is another key component of Firewise, said Bob McKean, president of the Creekside Home Owners Association. “Most people are pretty conscientious about what they are planning because they have concerns about fire,” he said.

“I think if my place is Firewise and my neighbor’s is not, we’ve got to work on that,” McKean said.

The homeowners’ association has a three-member committee working on the resilience effort.

“Creekside is a great place to educate residents going forward,” Orlaineta said.  She hopes that in five to 10 years, mitigation work won’t be required to reverse practices that are not fire resilient.

“It’s been a great turnout (of residents) in here. It’s a beautiful thing that has been created,” Hoey said. “It’s putting in the diligence.”

The collective is working with 14 Firewise neighborhoods, most with conventional homes, but other manufactured home parks are looking at the program, Orlaineta said. 

Reach Ashland freelance writer Tony Boom at tboomwriter@gmail.com.