You are invited to the Wildfire Forum organized by Old Farm Neighborhood District on Thursday, April 24 at 5:30 pm at the Larkspur Community Center (located at Reed Market Road and 15th Street). Doors open at 4:30 pm.

As Bend grows ever closer to the wildfire-susceptible Deschutes National Forest, what is being done to protect our community?  This event will give you an opportunity to engage with city and county staff tasked with addressing the many complex issues related to our wildfire risks.

Topics and Panelists Include:

• Neighborhood Preparedness / Own Your Zone and Home Protection Strategies (Melissa Steele, Bend Fire & Rescue and Tim Brownell, Director, Deschutes County Dept. of Solid Waste)
• Wildfire Risk Consideration in Long-range City Planning (UGB/Master Plans) (Brian Rankin, Senior Strategist, Growth Management and Mike Riley, Bend City Council)
• Current and Outdated Standards / Specs for New Housing Development (Russ Grayson, Assistant City Manager, Community and Economic Development)
• Evacuation Planning, Critical Transportation Routes, Regional Planning (Nathan Garibay, County Emergency Manager)
• Flammable Vegetation Code (Julie Craig, City of Bend Code Enforcement)

If you have questions for the panelists, please submit them in advance to: oldfarmbend@gmail.com.

The City of Bend has it’s own Frequently Asked Questions page on wildfire preparedness here. You can also submit additional questions there, and sign up for Deschutes Alerts.

Deschutes County is once again conducting a FireFree event this spring. The usual fee at Knott Landfill will be waived so that you may dispose of yard waste for free. This includes grass clippings, brush, plant prunings, pine needles, pine cones, weeds, trimmings, and branches, stumps or trees no larger than 12” diameter. This event runs from May 2 to May 11, 7am to 4:30pm. You can find out more about this event as well as other fire prevention information on the FireFree website.

The June edition of our First Tuesday meetup event will be on June 4 from 5-7 pm, once again at our neighborhood’s craft beer playground: Crux Fermentation Project! Come meet and socialize with your Southern Crossing neighbors on the lawn at Crux. With unbeatable views of the Cascade Mountains, Crux is the ideal family and dog-friendly spot to enjoy an evening of community and fun. We’ll get the party started with appetizers on us. Look for us at the picnic table with the SCNA sign.

Crux is located at 50 SW Division Street. Walking or biking are great ways to arrive. If you are driving, access through SW Industrial Way has recently been opened up in preparation for a coming construction closure on Aune Street (the previous driving access).