Winter has started in earnest; and we've has several snow storms already.

Cindy Kettering with Bend Fire reminds us that it's very important to shovel the walkways; and if you have a fire hydrant on your property, clear that too.  "Go one step further and clear the area around the hydrant. In the event of a fire, it's very important that we can get to that hydrant and connect to it quickly and easily. That’s going to help us reduce the chance of death, injury or property damage, by being able to make that quick connection to a fire hydrant."

Kettering says they need about a three foot clearance around the hydrant, and if you have a commercial property, you need to clear the emergency exits that are seldom used.

The city ordinance requires a homeowner to clear sidewalks and driveways of snow within the first day of snowfall and businesses within six hours of the snowfall.