PRINEVILLE,
Ore. – Fire managers on the Crooked River National Grassland plan to take
advantage of favorable weather starting Wednesday to begin ignitions on around
500 acres of jackpot slash within three burn units near Juniper Butte along
Highway 97, about 10 miles southwest of Madras.
Jackpot
burning addresses high concentrations of naturally-occurring or thinning-related
downed woody debris.
The
objective for this jackpot burn is to reduce fuel loading and fire danger in
areas where high concentrations of juniper slash are left over from personal
use firewood cutting. The project falls within the Jefferson County Community
Wildfire Protection Plan.
Ignitions
will last for two or three days and smoke will be visible along Highway 97, but
no delays or impacts to highway traffic are expected.
The
most visible burn unit is located at the base of Juniper Butte near the
intersection of Highway 97 and Monroe Lane. Another unit is located 4 miles to
the east along Ramms Road, and a third unit is located 2 miles to the south of
Ramms Road in the Henderson Flat area, northwest of Gray Butte. See attached
map.
Ignitions
are planned to begin at 9:30 Wednesday morning.
All
prescribed burning is proposed, analyzed, and planned ahead of time by the
Forest Service as part of restoration and fuels management projects. Fuels
specialists follow policies outlined in the Oregon 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 Ochoco National Forest website at www.fs.usda.gov/ochoco
and follow us on Twitter @CentralORFire.
