Bend, OR Fire Regulations: Brush Clearance (2026)

005(A) makes every property owner or person in charge of property in the City of Bend responsible for reducing flammable or potentially flammable weeds, grass, vines, brush and other vegetation, stating the purpose is to confine fire and prevent its spread to other properties. 005(B) sets the method: reduction can combine trimming, cutting or removing vegetation as close to the ground as reasonably practicable, or applying an EPA-approved herbicide. The standard scales with parcel size: tax lots one-half acre or smaller must remove all flammable or potentially flammable weeds, grass, vines and brush entirely, while tax lots larger than one-half acre must instead establish and maintain a 20-foot fuel break around the entire perimeter of the property, including rights-of-way and easements, and around structures, power poles, vehicles, trees or other improvements vulnerable to fire.

The City can order additional abatement for situations the fuel breaks do not adequately cover, and vegetation in an adjacent right-of-way or easement remains the responsibility of the neighboring property owner. Accumulated waste vegetation must be disposed of so it does not itself create a fire hazard or spread to other properties. 005(C) allows a City-approved vegetation management plan as an alternative to the standard trimming or fuel-break requirements. 00. 30.