~ Neighborhood News ~ |
Firewise Work Party
Posted on Apr 12th, 2026
The Firewise Work Party 2026 will be Saturday April 25th, from 9am to 11am at Julie Archer's place, at 132 E. Ponderosa (south side). The actual work area will be off Wild Apple and will be marked. Following the work party, everyone is invited to Adar and Tobiah's place from 11am to 12 noon, at 159 E. Ponderosa, for the educational part of this Firewise event. Light refreshments and Firewise materials will be available. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come to one or both parts of this happening.
After the work party Matt will be doing the free chipping that is available to all residents. Please get your piles of chippable branches laid out by the road with butt ends facing out. The $4,000 micro grant that Firewise received from the DNR is available to pay for chipping. But you must get your chipping requests in ASAP. May 15th is the cut off date for these requests to be able to use grant funds, since this is a reimbursement grant, and invoices have to be in by June. The Chipping Request Form is on the website under Firewise and Data Entry Forms.
Remember to take steps to Firewise your area:
Repair any loose or missing roof shingles/tiles and caulk any gaps or openings on roof edges.
Cover exterior attic vents and install wire mesh (1/8th inch or smaller) to under-eave and soffit vents.
Replace mulch with hardscaping, including rock, gravel, or stone.
Protect by watering dry grass and shrubs, trimming brown vegetation, and disposing of yard waste.
You can also record your hours and expenses online on the Volunteer Time Sheet under Firewise/Data Entry Forms. The revised form is being worked on and will come out shortly. But meanwhile your recorded Firewise activities help us to receive our Firewise certification every year, and help make us eligible for grants. Thank You!
Dues
Posted on Mar 9th, 2026
JUST A REMINDER: There will be a statement fee charged to your account each month that your HOA dues have not been paid, or you have not completed a "Payment Option Application". If you are having trouble paying the whole amount, I encourage you to complete the POA and turn it in for approval.
Treasurer
Ponderosa Park Owners Association
Leash Law
Posted on Feb 14th, 2026
Last night at our meeting we discussed a potential leash law for those taking their dogs for a walk. We decided that, although using a leash isn’t clearly stated, controlling your dog is already addressed in the CCRs. Article V, section 5 (d) requires pet owners to keep their dogs under their control and not allowed to stray onto common areas or onto other properties (without permission from the property owner). We determined that the dog owner can decide whether they need to use a leash or not to keep their dog under control.
Outreach Committee
Posted on Feb 14th, 2026
Just a reminder that the park has an outreach committee. The committee is there for anyone needing assistance with a ride or help around the house. Anyone that has fallen on hard times, disabled, elderly or just needs help please reach out to us. You can contact the board of directors on our website to request assistance or if anyone wants to volunteer to be on the committee please contact us.
Firewise News
Posted on Jan 22nd, 2026
Good Firewise News! Dustin Mutch, our DNR forester says that our phase 3 perimeter project will be going out for bids in mid February. Good things will happen in 2026! And you can be part of it. What can you do now to get ready for fire season? Now that the weather is freezing, it is a good time to limb up and remove tree branches and small trees. You can also cut down and remove dead trees, and thin thick stands of trees, especially from around your structures, and next to the road. You can also take simple, scientifically proven steps to reduce the risk of your home and property becoming fuel for a wildfire. Research shows that keeping high intensity fire 100 feet from a home can prevent the fire from igniting the home directly. Clear ignitable material such as needles and leaves from roof, gutters, porches and decks. Relocate items kept under decks or porches, and swap out vegetation in these areas for rock or gravel. Remove ignitable features within 30 feet of all structures including firewood piles, portable propane tanks, and dry and dead vegetation. Contact your neighbors and create a plan to address shared wildfire safety concerns together. You may also be interested in two articles about the success of wildfire prevention efforts in the Burdoin Fire: The Power of Preparedness: Home hardening and defensible space saves home from Burdoin Fire 7/29/2025 Columbia Gorge News; and Burdoin Fire: DNR's resilience programs helped Columbia Gorge homes survive wildfire threat 10/3/2025 The Columbian. Make us all safer. Be Firewise!
November Work Party
Posted on Nov 26th, 2025
Great job to our neighbors that came out in support of the work party to assist Dan and Tina Cypher in limbing the trees back off of the west end of Golden Pine.
Special thanks to Rod Smith for bringing out the bucket truck and cutting down the large overhanging oak branches. Not pictured are Matt Borden and Dale Busse who were also part of the team. Bill Bergthold and Brent Boykin-Hicks also took down a hazard tree on the north side of the road. Great job by all.
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Firewise Resident Hours Reporting
Posted on Nov 22nd, 2025
Ponderosa Park is a recognized Firewise Community. Every year in November, information is submitted to National Firewise to assure that we continue to qualify as a recognized Firewise Community. Information is submitted about work parties, meetings, projects, chipping, and education. But volunteer hours are also needed and submitted for people who work on their own property, making their acres safer for themselves and their community. We encourage everyone to start doing this now, and continue whenever you do Firewise activities on your property. Any hours that you enter now through mid-November of 2026, will count toward the year's qualification as a Firewise Community. Many people work on their land, but don't report their hours. It is easy to do it. On this website just look for Firewise Volunteer hours under Firewise or data entry forms. Fill out the form and submit it. You can accumulate your hours and submit them, or do it every time you do Firewise activities. The Firewise Committee will be looking at redesigning the form at the next meeting so that even more activities that Firewise recognizes will be included on the form. Winter is a good time to do Firewise activities like removing dead trees, thinning trees, limbing up trees, and burning slash, or requesting chipping for piles set butt ends out at the road. Remove flammable materials from underneath decks and porches, and between deck board joints. Make or review your emergency action and evacuation plan. Make sure your driveway has 15" of vertical clearance for emergency vehicles. Fires occur in winter too! And don't wait til the summer fire season is upon us. Start Firewising now! And good news! Our phase three shaded fuel break project is proceeding. Dustin Mutch, our DNR Forester, has approximately 50 acres included in the project, and a contractor will be arranged in the near future! Thank you to all that participate!
Volunteers
Posted on May 16th, 2025
Rural 7, station 11 is always looking for new volunteers. You can get an application from LT Bill Bergthold at station 11 or at the main fire house in Goldendale, station 1. Thank you CPT Gerry Zager for all your years of service.
Emergency Notification
Posted on Aug 15th, 2023
Ponderosa Park Firewise reminds all park residents to be sure to sign up for emergency notifications from Klickitat County Emergency Management. Just go to their website, and sign up for the new RAVE notification system. You can put in multiple phone numbers and other important information. We have heard from several people that they did not receive notification. The system works well, but just be sure they have all your pertinent information . (During the recent fire I had our home phone in the system but not our cell phones, and we were out of town. Our granddaughter was at our home and got the loud evacuation messages even though she did not answer the call.) Sign up! Be safe! Make us all safer!
Incident Reporting
Posted on Jul 11th, 2023
Please report speeders to ponderosatraffic@gmail.com or use the incident report of the website. Include a description of the car, license plate, date and time to help the sheriff's dept. identify the person.
Reporting information is used only by the board to address the situation. The gmail address is handled by the Traffic and Safety committee head. Incident reports are sent to ALL board members by the webmaster.
Please do not use the ponderosa-park.com news section for reporting any complaints or incidents.
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~ Upcoming Events ~ |
Firewise Work Party
Saturday, April 25th, 9am to 11 at 132 E Ponderosa
Firewise work party on E Ponderosa and Wild Apple from 9am to 11am.
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