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Oregon's wildfire risk map and defensible space code, explained

It's a simple fact of life in Oregon: it gets dry in the summer, and things can catch on fire. That much is accepted, but state efforts to increase fire safety are meeting with resistance.

First, there's the new wildfire risk map, which places all properties, rural and urban, into five fire risk categories, from "no risk" to "extreme."

Second, there is the process of creating a defensible space code, specifying how much room needs to be between buildings and vegetation to reduce fire risk.

We take up the two projects together, in a chat with Derek Gasperini from the Oregon Department of Forestry and Alison Green from the Office of the Fire Marshal in Oregon State Police.

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The Jefferson Exchange is Jefferson Public Radio's daily news program focused on issues, people and events across Southern Oregon and Northern California. Natalie Golay is the program's senior producer, Charlie Zimmermann is the assistant producer, and Mike Green hosts the show.