Free Wildfire Documentary Film Screening and Panel Discussion
- Hillsdale News
- Sep 7
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 31
[September 10, 2025]
Submitted by Eva Calcagno
Attend this free movie presentation and community discussion about wildfire risks to our homes and neighborhoods.
"Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire," an Award-Winning Documentary on Wildfire in Communities
September 21, 2025; 1:00pm-3:30pm
St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 2201 Vermont St.
Admission is free; donations gratefully accepted.
Filmed in various western states, including Oregon, the film includes footage from November 2018 when Paradise, California ignited from wind-borne embers and burned completely within a few hours. Additional footage addresses more recent firestorms, visits “model forest” landscapes and fire labs where researchers torch entire houses to learn why some homes burn and others survive. With voices of climate experts, Indigenous people and fire survivors, the film asks us to reimagine our approach to wildfire risk as we prepare for an increasingly hotter future.
Following the film, Executive Producer Ralph Bloemers will lead a panel discussion with Portland Fire & Rescue and Firewise-Community representatives to discuss how we can respond to firestorm risk within our neighborhoods. The panel will address risk mitigation to physical structures, as well as gardens and landscapes, and how to build a community level fire-readiness. Q&A will be key to discussing how we anticipate our defense when a wildfire occurs, before the fire department arrives.
As fires continue to threaten the Northwest each year, now's a good time to think about how you can prepare your home to resist wildfire and blowing embers. Our beautiful tree canopy and hillsides, combined with narrow streets, make the Hillsdale neighborhood particularly difficult to defend.
Following the film, Executive Producer Ralph Bloemers will lead a panel discussion to discuss how we can respond to firestorm risk.
Learn more about emergency preparedness from the Hillsdale Neighborhood Emergency Team at www.hillsdalepdxnet.org.
