Notice of La Pine Fire District Budget Committee Meeting

La Pine Rural Fire Protection District Budget Committee will hold a public meeting on Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 6:30 pm. The meeting purpose is to receive the proposed 2024/2025 budget, hear the budget message, and take public comment. Meeting location is at 51550 Huntington Road, La Pine, Oregon. The location is accessible to persons with disabilities. Please visit our website www.lapinefire.org or call 541-536-2935 for further information or to request special needs accommodation. The budget committee meeting will be available via zoom, click here

Deschutes Alerts All-County Message May 1

Good morning, everyone! Next Wednesday 5/1 at ~1300 hours we will be sending a test message to all people signed up for Deschutes Alerts (about 54K people). We will be sending out a press release at the beginning of next week. 

We’ll have a joint information center to take incoming calls from the public on 5/1, and that number is 541-550-4888. The JIC will be open Wednesday from 1300-~1700 and calls placed after that time will forward to my desk. 

If you get folks calling in to your stations about this, please refer them to 541-550-4888 and we would be happy to help them.

Our JIC is being hosted at 911 and we are working in partnership with Chris Perry and his teams, so incoming calls to 911/non-emergency that filter down to your troops should be very limited, if any. 

Thank you all!

Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District Plans Prescribed Burning Adjacent to Paulina Lake Road

La Pine, Ore – Starting Tuesday, Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District firefighters plan to conduct prescribed burn operations adjacent to Paulina Lake Road approximately six miles northeast of La Pine and approximately two miles east of the Newberry Estates subdivision. If conditions are favorable, ignitions may continue on Wednesday and Thursday.

On Tuesday, ignitions are planned for up to 203 acres (Odin North 12) along Forest Service Road 2120, which provides access to McKay Crossing Campground. Ignitions are slated to begin around 10 a.m. If conditions remain favorable, firefighters may continue ignitions on Wednesday on up to 300 acres (Odin North 15) and Thursday on up to 200 acres.

Smoke will be visible from La Pine, Highway 97, Paulina Lake Road and the surrounding area. Residents in the Newberry Estates subdivision are encouraged to keep doors and windows closed to minimize smoke impacts. Road and trail closures are not anticipated although the public is asked to use caution where fire traffic and firefighters are present. Paulina Lake Road may experience smoke impacts. Signage will be in place and drivers are asked to slow down and turn on headlights.

The prescribed burn units are within the Ogden Vegetation Management Project area and received thinning and mastication to reduce vegetation loading prior to burning. Prescribed burning reintroduces and maintains fire within a fire-dependent ecosystem helping to stabilize and improve the resiliency of forest conditions while increasing public and firefighter safety. Once firefighters ignite prescribed burns, they patrol the units until they declare the burn out.

These prescribed burns are occurring within the Central Oregon Landscape, one of 21 focal landscapes identified within the Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy. The implementation of these prescribed burns supports the Deschutes National Forest’s commitment to addressing the Wildfire Crisis Strategy which aims to reduce severity of wildfires, protect communities, and improve the health and resiliency of fire-dependent forests.

Prescribed burns can protect homes from tragic wildfires. Fire management officials work with Oregon Department of Forestry smoke specialists to plan prescribed burns. Prescribed burns are conducted when weather is most likely to move smoke up and away from our communities. While prescribed fire managers take significant preventive measures, it’s likely that communities may experience some smoke during or immediately after a prescribed burn. 

What does this mean for you?

During prescribed burns, smoke may settle in low-lying areas overnight.

• All residents are encouraged to close windows at night to avoid smoke impacts
• When driving in smoky areas, drivers should slow down, turn on headlights and turn air to recirculating
• If you have heart or lung disease, asthma, or other chronic conditions, ask your doctor about how to protect yourself from smoke
• Go to centraloregonfire.org to learn more about smoke safety and prescribed burning in Central Oregon

For more information on prescribed burning in Central Oregon, visit centraloregonfire.org/ and for information specific to the Deschutes National Forest visit www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes. Follow us on X/Twitter @CentralORFire. Text “COFIRE” to 888-777 to receive wildfire and prescribed fire text alerts.

WE ARE HIRING!!!

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FIREFIGHTER/PARAMEDIC

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Notice of La Pine Fire District Board of Directors Meeting 

The Board of Directors of the La Pine Rural Fire Protection District will hold a Regular Board Meeting on Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. at the fire station located at 51550 Huntington Road, La Pine. Requests for public comment must be made in writing by US Mail or by emailing admin@lapinefire.com and must be received by 3 p.m. the day prior to the meeting.  The Zoom link for the meeting. The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. Complete agendas or request for interpreter for the hearing impaired or for the accommodations for persons with disabilities should be made at least 48 hours before the meeting through the district administrative office at 51590 Huntington Road, La Pine. 

Winter Weather Health & Safety Resource Guide

Deschutes County Overnight Warming Shelters 2023

BURN SEASON IS OPEN EFFECTIVE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

A BURN PERMIT IS REQUIRED AND MUST BE FOLLOWED! Burn permits are available at all stations and administrative office located outside the door or by clicking here.

If your fire gets out of control, CALL 911 – Remember, Your Fire, Your Responsibility

The La Pine Fire District is within both state and federal forestry departments, and their regulations affect all private, county, state, and local government lands within our district, creating what is called a dual jurisdiction. 

Oregon Department of Forestry Restrictions

Click here to see if ODF has restrictions in place regarding campfire and debris burning, as well as chainsaw use.  Please note these restrictions apply to all public and private lands throughout the La Pine Rural Fire Protection District.

The La Pine Fire District strongly encourages citizens to continue to FireWise homes & properties to protect them from wildfire.

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Minimizing pain, suffering and the loss of life & property through prevention, fire suppression, rescue & emergency medical services.”

Emergency Information Dashboard available to the public

Please bookmark deschutes.org/emergency for future use, and encourage others to use it for accurate and timely information regarding incidents where evacuation notices are in place. We endeavor to update this dashboard as quickly as possible and as often as needed for events that necessitate evacuations or have major impacts. During an incident, it will include shelter location information (if shelters are being utilized), a situation update, and text from any Deschutes Alerts messages that have been sent to impacted community members.

Administration Office will be CLOSED on Fridays, effective 7/14/23

At the direction of Fire Chief Erick Holsey and the Board Directors, it was agreed to close the administration office on Fridays until further notice. This is due to staffing and additional special projects for the district.

THANK YOU TO THE LA PINE COMMUNITY FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!