Central Oregon–As fall weather brings
more moisture, shorter days, and cooler temperatures, fuels specialists are
beginning to burn piles across the Deschutes National Forest.
Starting today and continuing through the next
several weeks and months depending on conditions, specialists will begin
burning a variety of units across the forest.
Piles may smolder, burn, and produce smoke for
several days after ignition. While smoke
may linger in the area, there is a real benefit to burning this type of
vegetation. The piles are concentrations
of leftover materials associated with previous vegetation management activities
intended to remove hazardous fuels that can burn during summer wildfires.
No closures are anticipated with these operations.
However, if smoke drifts on to roads,
motorists should slow down, turn on headlights, and proceed with care. Once ignited, units are monitored by
firefighters until they are declared out.
Fuels specialists follow policies outlined in the
Oregon Department of Forestry smoke management plan, which governs prescribed
fires (including pile burning) and attempts to minimize impacts to visibility
and public health.
For more information, visit the Deschutes website
at www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes and follow us on twitter @CentralORFire.
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