CENTRAL POINT, Ore. — Crews from the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) are working in Central Point near Raymond Way and the Bear Creek Greenway in order to clear potentially hazardous fuels for wildfire.

"ODF’s main objective is to remove hazardous fuels within 200 feet of the homes to better prepare residents in the event of a wildfire," said Jackson County Fire District 3 (FD3) in a Facebook post.

FD3 said that ODF has already completed the first phase of the project — clearing two acres of land, or 200 feet from the furthest extension of the home. Crews removed blackberry bushes and limbed trees 10-12 feet off of the ground.

"There is more work projected to be done in the area later in 2019 to reduce the risk of wildfire," the agency said.

According to FD3, the work is being done as a result of the National Fire Protection Association's Wildfire and Firewise USA Programs, which determined that the most significant fire hazard in the Raymond Way neighborhood could come from overgrown blackberry and evergreen trees just behind the community.