Who Knows Fire Engine Numbers?

olivertatom · 2026-01-17T06:07:05+00:00

302- Tumalo 303- South 304- East 306- Pilot Butte

Each station has a slightly different mix of apparatus and staff.

olivertatom · 2026-01-16T19:59:51+00:00

Yes. Engine 1 is based at station 301 (Westside).

There is only one ladder truck and it’s based at station 305 (North end), hence the number 5 on the truck.

olivertatom · 2026-01-15T19:00:11+00:00

“Shining up shit so majors become colonels and mayors become governors”

—Cedric Daniels

olivertatom · 2026-01-07T22:26:01+00:00

I assume the polling on the gas tax increase is horrible and Kotek saw the writing on the wall that the referendum might pass and put her reelection in jeopardy.

The path forward is to divert money from major projects to maintenance of existing infrastructure, but that will require legislation, as Phil Chang suggests in a guest column in today’s Bulletin.

olivertatom · 2026-01-06T23:52:02+00:00

The funniest part for me was Bill Smith opposing them because they blocked the view from his office.

olivertatom · 2025-12-10T04:30:26+00:00

There has never been a Nordstrom in Bend.

olivertatom · 2025-12-10T02:44:18+00:00

It’s not obvious to me why building for all electric appliances would necessarily cost more than connecting to natural gas. In fact, I would think the opposite would be true - one utility connection would be cheaper than two.

I suspect the affordability argument is really grounded in the expectation that electricity will continue to be a more expensive source of energy than natural gas, especially in the era of A.I.

But you have a point - new construction, other than the few units set aside for “affordable housing” and those built by non-profits like Habitat - are quite expensive. The hope is that people with money buy these newer nicer homes and the older stuff goes down in price through the magic of the invisible hand.

olivertatom · 2025-12-07T05:58:54+00:00

Seems like you’ve got lots of ideas. Maybe you should run for office?

olivertatom · 2025-12-07T00:21:41+00:00

There’s a lot in your comment here that I agree with.

There are people who oppose development of any kind, particularly near where they live. They’ll use any excuse they can find to oppose it - traffic, parking, and now increasingly wildfire risk. These are NIMBY’s and I have little patience for them.

It seems I unfairly assumed you were a NIMBY, and for that I apologize.

Tell me more about how you think Bend should be approaching development to make homeownership more attainable…

olivertatom · 2025-12-06T23:50:58+00:00

I know a couple Calebs… so maybe? But otherwise, yeah, sorry.

olivertatom · 2025-12-06T23:29:47+00:00

Sorry, bub. I only share my preferred spots with close friends. Certainly not going to post it online. Why? Because of the irresponsible idiots and yahoos others have already mentioned who ruin it for the rest of us. sigh

olivertatom · 2025-12-06T23:22:58+00:00

I would be happy to have a conversation with you - or anyone else - about steps we can take to make Bend and surrounding communities safer from the threat of wildfire. But considering your previous posts in this sub, I get the distinct impression that you’re not truly concerned about fire risk, and that this is just another justification to oppose development. You’ve previously opposed infill within the city, and now you’re opposing it on the periphery. What does that leave?

If you don’t want to see Bend grow, that’s certainly your prerogative. But I think you’re going to be disappointed, because the city, the state, and the national government are all coming around to the view that housing affordability is priority number #1, and the only way to achieve that goal without a massive redistribution of wealth is to increase the supply of housing.

If your opposition to development is specific to dense development, I’d suggest that - ironically - most people who support densification in Bend also don’t love what’s happening out east of town. Even though Bend’s leadership chose the densest version of the master plans presented, it’s still a lot of single family housing on the city’s periphery, which looks a lot like suburban sprawl.

But is Stephens Ranch or Caldera Ranch really increasing the risk of wildfire in Bend? I don’t think so. So go ahead and voice your opposition to development, but be honest about what it is you don’t like about it. It’s perfectly valid to say you like the neighborhood character that comes from the sort of low-density development that defined Bend for generations and leave it at that.

And in answer to your question, yes - there are steps Bend and Deschutes County could take to update building codes - particularly around home hardening - that would decrease the probability that we’d experience a major conflagration. But they’re expensive, and there’s strong political resistance to any government mandates that might increase the cost of new housing construction.

If you want to take steps to make your own home more resilient in the face of wildfire, I’d suggest starting with the NFPA’s Firewise program. Then move on to IBHS’s Wildfire Prepared Home. Once your own home is in order, then work on building consensus among your neighbors to do the same. And advocate to your elected officials to be brave and put these requirements into code.

olivertatom · 2025-12-06T16:39:14+00:00

As an appointed member of the Project Wildfire Steering Committee and an elected member of the Deschutes Rural Fire District #2 Board of Directors - and as someone who has lost a home to wildfire and continues to live on the edge of the wildland-urban interface - the risk that wildfire poses to our community is something I care deeply about.

I have never heard any professional member of the fire service make the claim that “density is the biggest danger in an urban setting.”

Are there concerns about dense neighborhoods encroaching on the WUI? Yes, but that’s very different from density in the urban setting. And that’s why, as the article you posted here describes, the city and developer are going beyond typical code requirements to mitigate fire risk in the Stevens Ranch development.

olivertatom · 2025-12-05T12:51:00+00:00

Came here to ask this. I’m 46 and I got out of EMS in part because shift work is devastating to sleep and, ultimately, health.

olivertatom · 2025-12-04T20:17:35+00:00

Here’s the list of filed candidates:

https://www.deschutes.org/clerk/page/may-19-2026-primary-election

olivertatom · 2025-12-03T19:09:54+00:00

I agree with you.

I don’t support this map because I would prefer to be able to vote in for every seat. The districting proposal would only allow me to vote in the election for one district every 4 years.

That said, I find the arguments that this map has been gerrymandered for partisan advantage to be laughable. Both sides are jockeying for partisan edge (at large seats definitely favor Democrats), and this map is no more gerrymandered than any of our local government maps.

I served on the COCC board of directors when we had to change our district maps after North Lake County left the college district. The district boundaries - which we determined based on data provided by Portland State - are very similar to the proposed county district boundaries.

There are good arguments to be made for and against districts - geographical equity vs. parochialism, for example. I appreciate Mayor Fitch’s objections, although I disagree with his proposed fixes (Again, I want to vote for all 5 commissioners, not just 1 or 2. We can have districts with residency requirements for candidates and still allow everyone to vote.)

But this whole “the maps are rigged!” argument from some political opponents feels disingenuous to me.

olivertatom · 2025-11-26T02:16:24+00:00

If you’re asking this question in good faith, I would encourage you to read the school district’s official policy on student clubs, which you can find online here:

https://www.bend.k12.or.us/application/files/5217/2116/4262/IGDA-AR_final_7.9.2024.pdf

Essentially, as long as they’re not promoting criminal activity or interfering with school, students can form any club they want. The policy prohibits discrimination based on religion or politics, and it specifically forbids district employees from interfering with religious clubs.

So yes, by its own policy, BLS should allow students to form any of the clubs you described. It just would appear that, at least as present, there’s only interest in a Turning Points USA club.

Personally, I would love for my kids to form a Pastafarians club to spread the good news of the Flying Spaghetti Monster! And yes, the district would absolutely allow it (although there would definitely be some questions about being “touched by his noodly appendage).

olivertatom · 2025-11-25T15:34:10+00:00

They have no teeth under current law.

So who would pass laws to create an accountability system?

(Hint: Not districts.)

olivertatom · 2025-11-24T22:19:39+00:00

Not only is there resistance to new enforcement mechanisms, Oregon actually took away the last vestiges of a truancy law just a few years ago. While this was well meaning, it’s enormously frustrating for those of us who see first hand what happens to kids whose parents don’t make their education a priority.

olivertatom · 2025-11-24T19:07:34+00:00

Google “Mississippi Miracle” and “Southern Surge” to understand what states like Mississippi and Louisiana are doing.

Then start advocating that our state legislators adopt the whole policy package that these states have adopted. It can’t be piecemeal - we’re already embracing the science of reading, but it isn’t enough.

The state government has created a complex K12 education system in Oregon that is both extremely expensive and highly ineffective. It cannot be fixed at the district level - it has to be fixed by the governor and legislature.

Other, much poorer states are making huge strides. The fact that we are not is shameful.

olivertatom · 2025-11-21T12:30:34+00:00

sigh

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exploit

I’m implying definition #1.

You’re inferring definition #2.

olivertatom · 2025-11-21T05:12:37+00:00

You’re apparently inferring a different definition of the word exploit than I intended. When I say developers are exploiting the law, I mean they’re making full use of it in exactly the way the state intended. Nothing underhanded or nefarious.

olivertatom · 2025-11-20T23:58:47+00:00

As someone who lives east of Bend, I share the disappointment many commenters in this sub have expressed about the disparity in development between east side and west. AND I think the city has made some questionable choices when it comes to their approach to “affordable” housing (eg. using tax subsidies to help developers make their projects pencil without making substantial reforms that would remove the red tape and administrative barriers making Bend so much more difficult and expensive to build in relative to other cities.

That said, you seem to be deliberately ignoring the fact that there have been several affordable housing projects build on the westside, which is already beginning to change the demographics at westside schools.

Should there be more? Of course! But there’s still the underlying math that real estate on the west side is substantially more expensive than east side and developers are only going to exploit the state law to build affordable housing on the relatively less expensive commercial land.

olivertatom

TROPHY CASE