THURMAN BRIDGE NEIGHBORS

AN NFPA CERTIFIED FIREWISE COMMUNITY

Wildfire + Earthquake Prep Event MAY 18, 2025

Friendly House Community Center is hosting an Earthquake & Wildfire Preparedness Event on Sunday, May 18, starting at 3:00 pm in the Friendly House Gym, 1737 NW 26th Ave, Portland. This event is free, and everyone is welcome.

Steven Eberlein, Director of Organizational Resilience at Ethos Preparedness, will educate us about the science behind the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and about the danger of wildfires. Most importantly, he will help us understand how to prepare for these disasters in order to improve the prospects for safe outcomes for ourselves and our neighbors.

Emma Pattee, author of the new novel Tilt about the aftermath of 'The Really Big One' in Portland, will welcome the audience and make opening remarks.

Tables in the Friendly House gym will offer information and resources about emergency preparedness, with some offering emergency supplies for sale. You’ll see a full line-up of the event participants below. The tables will be open at 2:30 p.m. for 30 minutes before the May 18 event as well as for an hour after Mr. Eberlein’s presentation concludes, providing plenty of time to collect information, pick up brochures, and browse emergency supplies.

American Red Cross; City of Portland Bureau of Emergency Management; Portland Fire and Rescue; Firewise Community Program; Portland Public Schools, representatives from Dove Lewis and NW Neighborhood Veterinary Hospital; Seismic Retrofit Contractor NW Seismic; Redfora (Ready for Anything) supplies.

We are looking for BLOCK CAPTAINS: Please email us if you are interested/want to know more and are willing to help out!

EMAIL US AT thurmanbridgefirewise@gmail.com

Hardening Your House So It Survives an Ember Storm/Wildfire/Urban Fire

Protect Your Home from A Wildfire.pdf

Defensible Space Around Structure

In an ember storm like the one that occurred in Los Angeles, your house becomes the log and the plants around it are the kindling. Make sure there are no plants directly touching your structure.

This is the house of a Thurman Bridge Neighbor Firewise member. Take note of the landscaping. There are no bushes planted directly next to the structure. No plants or trellises ON the structure.

THIS IS WHAT AT LEAST 70% OF HOMES IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SHOULD STRIVE TO LOOK LIKE IN ORDER TO AVOID AN URBAN CONFLEGRATION (CLICK HERE IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS)

There is SEPARATION between the plants and the structure. And, above all it is SPARSE with more hardscaping than landscaping.

A+++ to this homeowner!!!!!!!

SHOPPING LIST FOR FIRE RESILIENT HOMES!

Flame Retardant Coatings

If you have wood sidings/wood decks there are flame retardant coatings and primers you can use to protect your structure.

Buy here: Fire Retardant Primer

Vents

Structures catch fire partially because embers go inside the house through vents. Get ember proof vents throughout your house.

Buy them here: Vent screens

Metal Gutter Guards

In addition to keeping gutters clean having a metal covering is a good idea.

Buy here: Gutters - Metal

Fire Blocking Gels for Hoses

This is some stuff you can spray on your structure (and I assume the surrounding area) for extra protection if you are at the point of having to evacuate.

Buy here: Fire Blocking Gel

Covers for Single Pane Windows

Many of us still have old, single pane windows in our homes. These should be covered on the OUTSIDE by affixing fire retardant tarps or blankets to the frames.

Buy here

Roof Sprinkler

Keeping your roof and the surrounding area wet during a wildfire can save your structure by essentially inhibiting embers from catching on the structure surfaces.

Buy here: Roof Sprinkler

FALL 2024

Thank you to Allan Classen (NW EXAMINER) and Val Aitchison for recognizing our NW Firewise leads for this tremendous Community Award. What an honor to be among some really top notch community members.

We had a chance to hear from "Adopt a Block", Friends of Couch Park, and others!

We look forward to building out our community leadership throughout Portland!

From left to right: Ralph Brooks (Forest Park South FW Lead), Nora Gruber & Audrey Yue (Thurman Bridge Neighbors FW Leads)

SIGN UP TO JOIN

Thurman Bridge Neighbors FW Community encompassesWillamette Heights and our neighbors around the Thurman Street Bridge and Lower MacLeay Park.

See the boundaries HERE and if you live within this area then you can.

Sign Up HERE to Join our Firewise Community

SO.....What IS a FIREWISE COMMUNITY anyways?

FireWise Communities are grassroots neighborhood groups that work together to protect themselves and their properties from fire in the wildland/urban interface in the event of a wildfire in the area.

To be recognized as a Firewise Communities/USA site we had to establish a local plan with cooperative assistance from state forestry agencies and local fire staff.

We have numerous challenges before us. We reside next to one of the largest urban parks/forests in the entire country. Many of our homes are at least 100 years old and made of wood. A changing climate is threatening our safety in a way it never has in the past.

That is why we formed this group. To protect ourselves, each other, our homes, and the community we love and cherish. Please join us!!!!

We will be working closely with Portland Fire & Rescue to Create Our Firewise Community to address fire safety challenges unique to our community.

PFD will be conducting FREE fire safety assessments of properties in our neighborhood.

SCHEDULE FREE ASSESSMENT

For a complete list of tips on protecting your home from wildfire please visit:

www.portlandoregon.gov/wildfire

Does your property back up to Forest Park???? Read This.

THURMAN BRIDGE NEIGHBORS FIREWISE COMMUNITY MAP

THESE ARE THE BOUNDARIES OF THE THURMAN BRIDGE FIREWISE NEIGHBORHOOD. BUT HONESTLY...EVEN IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE OF THE FIREWISE NEIGHBORHOOD...YOU SHOULD STILL BE A PART OF OUR FIREWISE COMMUNITY! URBAN FIRES CAN SPREAD AND AS WE SAW IN THE RECENT LA AND LAHAINA TRAGEDIES AN URBAN FIRE CAN SPREAD QUICKLY AND CAUSE DEVASTATION EVEN QUITE A DISTANCE FROM WILDLAND. SO I URGE YOU TO BE PREPARED FOR A WILDFIRE/URBAN FIRE AND MAKE SURE YOUR HOME/STRUCTURE IS HARDENED. EVEN IF YOU LIVE IN AN APARTMENT!!!!!

FIREWISE/PARKS BUREAU FUELS /VEGETATION REMOVAL EVENTS: BEFORES + AFTERS!!

Thurman Bridge Firewise Fuel Mitigation Event at Lower Macleay - May 10th, 2025

BEFORE THE EVENT....

THE VOLUNTEERS START TO TRIM...

MAKING HEADWAY...

WHOA....

WOW.

THANK YOU SO MUCH VOLUNTEERS!!!

BEFORE THE EVENT

Lots of Laurels in this area, very dense. Ideal ladder fuel if next to a tree.

AFTER THE EVENT

By limbing these Laurels up off the ground "bonsai style" we can style enjoy their beauty but they are less likely to catch from a ground fire.

Does your property look like this?

Do you need a group of volunteers to come help clear it???

Sign up here!

https://forms.gle/9RSRw47wtuAHPqtz8

This is what it looks like behind many of our homes...

And this is what it should look like to be FireWise. Let us help!

Our Community's CHALLENGES

PFR.pdf

Meeting - January 30 2025 - Portland Parks Bureau and TB Neighbors Firewise.mp4

Meeting with Parks Bureau January 30, 2025

Summary: contractor work in high-risk areas, volunteer involvement in invasive species removal, and the use of GIS mapping for tracking fire hazards. Action items included establishing a reporting system, organizing volunteer efforts, and coordinating with city agencies on maintenance responsibilities.