<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2hH40M_1E0PNgKH00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2hH40M_1E0PNgKH00" width="900" height="489" ><figcaption>Living in the wooded beauty of Ashland brings with it the risk of wildfire. A few hours of work around the house can help homeowners reduce their risk.</figcaption></figure><h2>What fire season asks of us as homeowners</h2>August in Southern Oregon always brings the same shift in the air. School supplies show up in store windows, the light turns a little smokier some afternoons, and every homeowner I know starts thinking about defensible space again, whether they want to or not.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3rqD41_1E0PNgKH00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3rqD41_1E0PNgKH00" width="300" height="257" ><figcaption>Carrie Dahle</figcaption></figure>This year is shaping up to be a tougher one, too. Oregon is dealing with a record-low snowpack and expanded drought conditions, and Jackson County is among several counties currently under a state emergency declaration due to wildfire risk.In my house, fire season isn’t an abstract idea. My youngest son fights wildfires for a living, and every summer I think a little harder about what it actually means to love a place enough to want to protect it. That’s really what preparing your home for fire season is: an act of care, not fear.I say that because I talk to a lot of homeowners this time of year who feel a low hum of anxiety about it and don’t know where to start. So here’s the reframe I keep coming back to: You can’t control the fire season. You can control the space immediately around your house, and that space is broken into a few manageable zones.Start with the first 5 feet around your house; this is the space that matters most. Clear leaves, needles and debris off the roof and out of the gutters. Keep mulch, wood piles and anything flammable off the ground right next to your foundation. If you have vents, screen them with metal mesh to keep embers out; embers are what start most home fires during wildfire events, not the flame front itself.From there out to about 30 feet, space trees and shrubs so fire can’t leap from one to the next. Prune branches up off the ground and away from your roofline. Keep the lawn watered and mowed short, or consider replacing the grass near the house with gravel or hardscape.Further out toward the edges of your property, thin out dead or downed vegetation and give your trees some breathing room between one other. Store firewood stacks and propane tanks well away from the house, and keep driveways and gravel paths clear; they can double as fire breaks.None of this guarantees anything, and I’m not going to pretend it does. But it shifts you from a place of dread to a place of action, and that shift matters more than people give it credit for.A few places to get real help, most of it free:<ul><li>The Oregon state fire marshal offers a free defensible space assessment to any homeowner, renter or business. Request one at defensiblespace.oregon.gov.</li><li>Ashland’s Better Prepared Neighborhoods program sends CERT volunteers to walk your street to conduct a wildfire risk assessment and plan for evacuation. Request one for your neighborhood at ashlandoregon.gov/BetterPrepared.</li><li>The city’s Get Ready hub has evacuation routes, emergency alert sign-ups and go-bag checklists in one place at ashlandoregon.gov/getReady.</li></ul>Here in Ashland, people aren’t backing away from any of this. A total of 103 homes sold between May and July, up from 91 a year ago, and there are about 5% more homes on the market than there were last summer, 117 versus 111. Those homes are also taking about 10 days longer to sell than they did last year. That’s not a bad thing. That extra time is exactly what a buyer needs to get a defensible space assessment done, ask about roof material and vent screening, and get a real insurance quote before they close, rather than after.Out in the rural parts of the county, where fire risk and a fire-adapted mindset are often even more front of mind, sales are actually up nearly 17% over last year. People are still saying yes to the land. They’re just doing their homework first.Whether you already own a home in Ashland or you’re just now circling the idea of putting down roots here, take an afternoon this month to walk your own property with fresh eyes. A few hours clearing debris, checking your vents and moving anything flammable away from the house can make a real difference when it matters most. Preparedness isn’t about controlling the fire. It’s about controlling what you can, and that’s always worth doing.Here’s to a calm, prepared August.Ashland resident Carrie Dahle is past president of the Rogue Valley Association of Realtors and principal broker at John L. Scott, Ashland. Email her at [email protected].</div></body>

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August in Southern Oregon always brings the same shift in the air. School supplies show up in store windows, the light turns a little smokier some afternoons, and every homeowner I know starts thinking about defensible space again, whether they want to or not. This year is shaping up to...

Real Estate Corner: Ready, not rattled

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August in Southern Oregon always brings the same shift in the air. School supplies show up in store windows, the light turns a little smokier some afternoo

Real Estate Corner: Ready, not rattled

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