By Kim Kosmas, Senior Public Education Officer,
Portland Fire & Rescue
Note: Kim will be presenting at the Wednesday, May 4 Linnton Neighborhood Association meeting at Linnton Community Center.
The Linnton community is beautiful and filled with lush vegetation. Yet, living within the wildland environment creates significant fire hazards, and can threaten lives and property. The abundance of plant life provides fuel to burn; and the steep topography, combined with seasonal hot and dry winds, allows fire to spread rapidly. Portland Fire & Rescue provides free advice on reducing the risk of wildfires around your home: https://www.portland.gov/fire/your-safety/wildland-urban-interface-wui-home-assessment
The Linnton community has unique risks and will face challenges during any type of large-scale evacuations. Early notification is essential when an incident or evacuation notice is received. If an incident occurs, residents will need to be ready to leave the area. Be familiar with the designated routes available in your neighborhood. During any type of evacuation there may be a few hours or just a few minutes that will be given to leave.
It is very important to be aware of the alerts that are being sent out to the community and know what to do if an evacuation order is received. Portland Fire & Rescue encourages all residents to be prepared and the first step is to sign up forpublicalerts.org. This is a regional program that will send you notifications about emergencies that affect your area, such as wildfires.
For more information on how to prepare for an evacuation, visit Publicalerts.org/evacuation. Lastly, the new age scanner, PulsePoint is another great tool to have available to listen in on the radio traffic for an emergency that’s occurring in your area. Download the app today to get connected. Pulsepoint.org
More information about the assessment program and the Firewise Communities in our area are at the following links. Reducing the Risk of Wildfire and Firewise Community Program.
More info at:
• Wildland-Urban Interface Home Assessment – https://www.portland.gov/fire/your-safety/wildland-urban-interface-wui-home-assessment
• Reducing the Risk of Wildfire – https://www.portland.gov/fire/your-safety/reducing-risk-wildfire
• Firewise Community Program – https://www.portland.gov/fire/your-safety/firewise-community-program
• https://www.publicalerts.org/
• Preparing for an evacuation – https://www.publicalerts.org/evacuation
• Listen to emergency radio transmissions – https://www.pulsepoint.org/download