BEND, OR -- Central Oregonians are encouraged to start preparing now for the upcoming wildfire season, despite our tough winter and wet spring. Deschutes County Forester Ed Keith says homeowners shouldn't get complacent, "Fire season’s a little hard to predict. But, I always tell people we always have a fire season in Central Oregon. It’s always hot and dry in July and August; and then it’s just a matter of how many lightning storms we get, how many human-caused fires we get. But, we’re always going to have that weather that brings us into fire season, here in Central Oregon, so we have to be prepared in advance."

Keith tells KBND News the most important thing to focus on in the spring is creating defensible space. "That’s that area from your back step to about 30’ from your house, where it really needs to be cleaned up every single year. You need to remove flammable brush, get the pine needles off of your roofs and gutters and thin any small trees, do your pruning, so that if a fire should happen your home will be much safer."