Eugene-Springfield Fire offers free wildfire debris drop-off this week

Eugene-Springfield Fire opened a free four-day drop-off for branches and limbs Monday, giving households in Eugene and Springfield a direct way to clear wildfire fuel from yards before the dry season intensifies. The debris can be taken to the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection at 3925 Hilyard Street in Eugene or Bob Artz Memorial Park at 7807 Thurston in Springfield.

The agency is focusing on material that can ignite easily when it dries out, especially the kind of yard waste that can sit along fences, under trees and near homes in the wildland-urban interface. That matters in Lane County, where wildfire is one of the most common and destructive hazards and where officials urge extra caution for people living in rural areas or on the edge of development.

Residents choosing the Eugene site should plan for a self-serve drop-off, because that location will not have assistance. The Springfield site will have drop-off assistance available. The free window runs through May 7, offering a short but practical chance to haul away debris that might otherwise remain on a property as fire season builds.

The cleanup push fits into Eugene Springfield Fire’s broader wildfire preparedness work this spring. A 2024 city update said the department’s Wildfire Planning and Fuels Management Program is led by Deputy Fire Marshal Althea Sullivan and funded by the Community Safety Payroll Tax. That program was described as part of a larger effort to expand public outreach, strengthen fuels-management capability and build fire-adapted community plans tied to Oregon Senate Bill 762.

The timing is especially pointed this year. Oregon has been dealing with drought and a record-low snowpack after an unusually warm winter, and wildfire watchers have said May and June rainfall could shape how early and how severe the season becomes. State fire guidance says more than 70% of Oregon wildfires are human-caused, making simple steps like removing burnable debris and avoiding risky burning even more important.

Outdoor debris burning is also tightly regulated through public fire restrictions, with state officials directing residents to the Before You Burn website before lighting anything. For Eugene and Springfield households, the free drop-off offered a straightforward alternative: clear the branches now, lower the fuel load around the home, and reduce one more piece of risk before fire season hardens across the Willamette Valley.