Fall half-price FireFree event coming up

With wildfire and defensible space on all of our minds, now is the time to take advantage of opportunities to increase your preparedness for wildfire.

Beginning Monday, October 26 through Saturday, November 7 (closed Sunday, November 1) Deschutes Recycling, located at Knott Landfill on Southeast 27th Street in Bend, is offering residents an opportunity to recycle their yard debris at half price, only $2 per cubic yard. Residents are encouraged to improve the defensible space around their homes and other structures by participating in the half-price yard debris recycling event.

The FireFree program helps residents by reducing the cost of their fall clean up and maintenance of their defensible space. It’s made possible through a generous partnership with Deschutes Recycling, now Republic Services.  By bringing grass clippings, brush, plant prunings, pine needles, pine cones, weeds, trimmings and branches, stumps or trees less than 12 inches in diameter to Deschutes Recycling during this event, our communities become more resilient to wildfire.

Residents can also use this event as an alternative to fall burning. Burning yard debris is not allowed inside the city limits of Bend. Outside of Bend city limits, residents should call their local fire department’s burn information line to find out if burning is allowed.

FireFree is a program with ten key tips that encourages taking action to reduce the damage from wildfires in Deschutes County. For more information about FireFree, call Project Wildfire at 541-322-7129.

Visit the FireFree website at www.firefree.org for detailed event information and defensible space tips to reduce the structural vulnerability of homes.