Canby Rural Fire Protection District

District Description The Canby Fire District is a special service district that provides fire, rescue, and prevention services to the Cities of Canby and Barlow as well as the rural areas around those cities. Canby Fire is also the ambulance service provider for the service area, providing emergency advanced life support transport to its residents. Over 30,000 people live within the 54 square miles that the District serves. Currently the Fire District has 50 members who consist of 24 career, 20 volunteer, and two administrative personnel. The District passed a new levy in 2023 that funded the addition of new staff, increasing administrative capacity and improving the District’s ability to respond to emergencies.

Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Some areas in the Canby Fire District are excellent examples of the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). These areas are characterized by residential homes surrounded by heavy fuels and steep slopes. In addition, many of the neighborhoods have only one way in and one way out with narrow, steep driveways and poor address signage. Canby has a heavy agricultural influence, so there is a great deal of controlled field burning, but there is not a significant history of large wildfires.

Structural Ignitability Canby Fire promotes adequate access and water supply, the creation of defensible space, use of fire- resistant roofing and building materials, and community preparedness in the WUI. Although the City of Canby has a Planning Department, it now contracts with Clackamas County for land use planning and building permit services. Canby Fire has an excellent working relationship with Clackamas County and integrates fire-safety concepts at the regulatory level by participating in land use reviews for new developments to provide input on access and water supply.

Emergency Response A major wildland urban interface fire in Canby would quickly exceed the resources and capabilities of the District, as the District’s priority for service is in transport (i.e., ambulances and other similar response) and not large-scale firefighting. For this reason, Canby Fire has mutual aid agreements in place that allow for the sharing of resources across the county during a large-scale disaster such as a wildfire.

Burning of yard waste and debris is challenging in the Canby Fire District, as most wildfire ignitions are the result of escaped debris burns from agricultural lands. Agricultural burning is regulated by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, and fire districts may only ban burning if certain humidity, temperature, and wind conditions are met. Agricultural operations may burn all year, which makes enforcement of the backyard burning program difficult because local area residents do not understand why they cannot burn while others can. The majority of Canby is within the DEQ boundary, so there is a burning season, but response from DEQ for violations is inconsistent.

Radio communications are good throughout Canby, although there are some gaps in coverage across the District. Canby Fire received an AFG large grant to address communication issues in these areas. Canby Fire would rely on two primary water supplies for wildfire response: one on Dryland Road and one on Elisha Road. The Canby Ferry also has a fire pump that could be utilized in an emergency. Canby Fire would like to continue developing rural water supply sources to be a recognized water supply by ISO.

The District employs 24 career and 20 volunteer firefighters who receive regular wildland fire training to remain current on qualifications. Although the District can support the S-130 and S-190 training, lack of live fire experience makes it difficult to retain wildland qualifications. Canby Fire is working with NAFT and WFTA to conduct a live fire exercise (potentially in Molalla area) to address the fire component of wildland task books. Canby Fire received grant funding to purchase wildland PPE and received a Fire Act FEMA grant for structural and wildland PPE five years ago, but likely will need additional wildland gear (turnouts and footwear) due to volunteer turnover.

Community Outreach & Education Canby Fire is dedicated to fire prevention and uses a variety of forums to promote residential fire safety, defensible space, and safe burning practices. The community is very supportive of the Fire District and participates in activities throughout the year, some of which include in-classroom school programs, public presentations, fire station tours, media events, safety fairs, and joint Town Hall meetings with Clackamas County Disaster Management in both English and Spanish.

Canby Fire is a member of the Clackamas County Wildfire Collaboration, which is a consortium of structural and wildland fire protection professionals that work together to deliver outreach and educational programs (such as grade school fire safety programs), home assessments, fuels reduction projects, and essential GIS mapping services.

The District has also obtained $35,000 grants in 2022 and 2023 from the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s office, which it has used primarily for direct WUI community engagement as well as to increase engine staffing.

Canby Fire also recognizes that there are smaller-scale Communities at Risk that have unique wildfire hazards to be addressed at the more local scale. Communities that have been identified as being particularly vulnerable to wildfires are listed in Table.

Canby Fire professionals considered the following factors to determine the local CARs including:

Need for defensible space.
Access limitations (narrow driveways, lack of address signage, one way in/one way out).
Steep slopes that can hinder access and accelerate the spread of wildfire.
Lack of water available for wildland fire fighting.
Heavy fuels on adjacent public lands.
Potential ignition sources from recreationists and transients.
Agricultural and backyard burning.
Lack of community outreach programs to promote wildfire awareness.
Communications difficulties.

Fuels Reduction Fuels reduction projects can and should be accomplished at the local scale, which involves the creation of defensible space around homes, as well as the landscape scale, which extends vegetation treatments onto adjacent forested land and natural areas. Canby Fire will assist in facilitating cooperation between public and private organizations to ensure that fuels reduction work occurs strategically and benefits homeowners as well as adjacent public and private lands.

To ensure that landscape-level treatments are paired with projects to create defensible space around vulnerable communities, priority fuels reduction projects have been overlaid with the Communities at Risk Identified by Canby Fire.

Fuels Reduction Priorities

• Sundowner • Molalla River State Park

Aurora Fire District Action Plan Canby Fire has developed a list of actions to build capacity at the District scale and has identified actions that can help to make the local CARS more resilient to potential wildfires. The action plan for Canby Fire and the local CARs therein is provided in Table 9-4.

Table 9-3 Canby Fire Local Communities at Risk

Community at Risk (CAR)	CAR Priority	Defensible Space	Access	Water	Public Forest Lands	Private Forest Lands	Recreators / Transients	Protection Capabilities	Burning	Preparedness	Steep Slopes	Description
Adkins Circle	H	X	X	X		X			X	X	X	Adkins Circle is a community of about 11 homes that have a single access bridge that is one way in and one way out. The community is adjacent to managed private timberlands. The area has steep slopes and residents regularly burn yard debris.
Sundowner	H	X	X	X				X	X	X		The Sundowner community is very rural and it would take over 10 minutes to respond, making it very important for landowners to be prepared for potential emergencies such as wildfires. There is only one way in and out. The homes here are relatively new and there is heavy vegetation leading up to the homes. Residents regularly burn yard debris in this community.
Dutch Vista / Madrona	H	X	X	X			X	X	X	X	X	The Dutch Vista One has limited access with a steep, one way in and out road. The homes are on the bluff of the river, which is accessed by recreators and fishermen who could serve as ignition sources. There is also a railroad here, which is a potential ignition source. Water supply is very limited.
Public Works Infrastructure	H	X	X	X	X							The City of Canby Public Works buildings and other infrastructure are adjacent to city-owned forest that would benefit from fuels reduction. Access is limited to one way in and out.
North Side Molalla River Bluff	M	X		X					X	X	X	The homes on the North Side of the Willamette River Bluff are at the top of a heavily vegetated slope. There are good potential evacuation routes in this area because there are many points of entry. However, this increased access to the area also increases the number of recreators and fishermen that could serve as ignition sources.
South End	M	X		X			X	X	X	X	X	South End Road has adequate access, but a limited water supply. CCFD has a few hydrants here. Vegetation and steep slopes are the primary concerns here. Fire response would have to be staged off the main highway, so there would be disruption, and traffic management to consider. The railroad runs through here, which increases ignition potential. Anglers, transients, and recreators frequent the area and are potential ignitions sources.
Molalla River State Park	M	X	X		X				X	X	X	The Molalla River State Park draws many recreators, primarily anglers, to the area. The primary risk here is the heavy fuels loading throughout the park.

CAR Priority: H = High M = Medium L = Low · X = risk factor present

Table 9-4 Canby Fire Action Plan

ID	Action Item	Timeframe	Partners	CAR	Status
Canby Fire Action Plan
1.1	Pursue grant funding to purchase Wildland PPE to replace outdated PPE.	2 Years	ODF; CCFDB		Delayed
1.2	Develop rural water supply sources to a standard that will be recognized by ISO.	3 Years	ODF; CCFDB		On Schedule
1.3	Work with the ODA to educate local area residents about the differences between agricultural and backyard burning.	3 Years	ODF; DEQ; Clackamas Wildfire Collaborative		On Schedule
1.4	Work with the DEQ to achieve consistent responses for burning violations.	2 Years	DEQ		Completed
1.5	Identify and pursue opportunities to participate in prescribed burns and live fire training to update and maintain wildfire certifications.	Ongoing	CCFDB; WFTA		Ongoing
1.6	Continue to foster partnerships with natural resources managers to assess and implement potential fuels reductions projects in natural areas adjacent to local CARs.	Ongoing	ODF; BLM; City Parks		Delayed
1.7	Partner with the Clackamas County Fire Defense Board to participate in a WUI conflagration exercise.	2 Years	CCFDB		On Schedule
1.8	Develop a backyard burning campaign in partnership with DEQ and ODA.	2 Years	DEQ; ODA		Completed
1.9	Add capacity and resources for wildland/WUI firefighting.	Ongoing	CCFDB		New
1.10	Develop media plan and resources for public messaging.	2 Years	CCFDB; CCEM		Completed
1.11	Develop and refine local CARs and wildfire risk reduction plan.	2 Years	CCFDB; CCEM		Completed
Canby Fire Local Communities at Risk Action Plan
2.1	Improve address signage for emergency response.	Ongoing	Clackamas Wildfire Collaborative	All CARs	Ongoing
2.2	Partner with the Clackamas Wildfire Collaborative to create and distribute outreach materials that promote responsible burning, defensible space, and reduction of structural ignitability within the Home Ignition Zone.	Ongoing	Clackamas Wildfire Collaborative	All CARs	Delayed
2.3	Promote legal, safe, and responsible debris burning through public outreach and education.	Ongoing	ODF; DEQ; Clackamas Wildfire Collaborative; ODA	All CARs	Ongoing
2.4	Develop a community-driven pre-disaster plan, including evacuation routes, telephone call down trees, and other strategies for strengthening community response.	Ongoing	CCEM; CCFDB	All CARs	Ongoing

Status: Ongoing On Schedule Delayed New Completed Remove · CAR = Community at Risk