Local developer seeks fire safety certification

In the aftermath of the GW Fire which resulted in the evacuation of Black Butte Ranch, the developer of Aspen Lakes is attempting to achieve certification as a "Firewise" community.

To date, there is only one other subdivision in the entire state of Oregon that has achieved the certification, which indicates the level of defensibility in the event of a wildfire: Fall River Estates in Bend.

The process to build a safe development began a long time ago for the Cyrus family.

"Dad (Keith Cyrus) has been in the fire department since it was founded, and I have been in it for 26 years," said Matt Cyrus, the developer of Aspen Lakes. "We have been doing contract fire fighting with the Forest Service since about 1990. We have been on all the major fires in Central Oregon, so we are very familiar with fire in the forest environment."

There was no certification system at the time the family started developing the Aspen Lakes subdivision; however, they had a wealth of experience in handling wildfires. This background created a framework that was used to begin a plan for a safe community in a high-risk fire area.

"When we developed Aspen Lakes originally, we put a lot of things in place that were 10 years ahead with regard to fire prevention. For example, Black Butte was requiring shake roofs and we prohibited them. We went in and thinned the trees and took out all the ladder fuels when we started our development 15 years ago," said Cyrus.

"More recently we discovered that there is actually a program called Firewise in which you can obtain a certification as a community. So, we are actually going through the process of obtaining the certification. We are fairly confident that we will not need to make any changes from what we have already done, because we were already doing what they are now doing as a program," said Cyrus.

The Red Cross has taken note of the certification process at Aspen Lakes, and it appears this organization will use the new Aspen Lakes clubhouse as a place to warehouse some emergency supplies and additionally to provide an area refuge center in the event of a local wildfire.

There is a goal that is above just being Firewise certified according to Cyrus.

"Our goal is to have a place that qualifies for the new buzzword which is 'Evacuation in Place.' That designation means that it is a place you do not have to evacuate and it is a place you can evacuate to if there is a fire. Our goal is for our development to be certified so that it will be a place that people can come to be safe in the event of a major wildfire," he said.

Part of the process is to recreate the environment that existed here before the settlers began to change the ecology of the area.

"It was our intent to make the area like it was 100 or so years ago. Back in those days they didn't have the serious wildfire problems that they have today. We are trying to bring it back to its natural state when the fire used to come through and keep it clean," said Cyrus.

The entire area was vastly different in the early days of settlement in Central Oregon.

"My grandfather homesteaded the place here, and in those days he used to drive a Model T up into the area that is now the Mount Washington wilderness area. The forests were a lot different in those days. It was all big trees and grass. There was no manzanita or brush. It was like a huge monster pasture with trees," said Cyrus.

More information about fire safety and the Firewise certification process can be obtained at http://www.firewise.org.

What do you think about Aspen Lakes serving as a "Evacuation in Place" site? E-mail comments to [email protected]