PRINEVILLE, Ore.— Fuel conditions on the Ochoco National Forest are
currently very dry, but as temperatures moderate and more precipitation arrives
this fall, fire managers will look for opportunities to complete two large
prescribed burns and several smaller ones to reduce hazardous fuels and improve
forest health.
Any decision to move forward
with prescribed burn plans will depend on appropriate weather conditions and
fuel moisture, as well as adequate staffing and public notifications.
The two largest burns planned
combine for a total of 5,000 acres and could be implemented simultaneously if
conditions allow. The Ochoco National Forest wishes to make public notice of
these potential burns now, so that hunters and other visitors have advanced
notice of the locations and potential timing of these planned events.
The Upper Beaver burn unit
totals about 3,800 acres, located 13 miles north of Paulina in the Tamarack
Butte area.
The Spears burn unit totals
about 1,200 acres, located 15 miles northeast of Prineville in the White Fir
Springs area.
“Fall treatment of 5,000
acres is a significant prescribed fire project for us,” said Stacey Forson,
Forest Supervisor for the Ochoco National Forest. “Periodic fire in these
ecosystems reduces hazardous fuel build-up and greatly minimizes the risk of
extreme fires in the future.”
Visit our “Prescribed Fire in
Central Oregon” map online to see exact locations of the proposed burn units: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/ochoco/home/?cid=stelprd3812842
All access roads to the burn
units have already been signed, and employees will make a sweep of the areas
should conditions provide the Forest with the ability to move forward with any
of the burns. Another public notice will be sent out once a proposed date is
identified.
Plans call for blacklining
the Spears and Upper Beaver units with hand ignitions, and then the application
of aerial ignition devices delivered from a helicopter to help consume interior
fuels. Ignitions are expected to last three days.
Smoke will be visible during
ignitions and is expected to linger for several days. Road signs and flaggers
will be used along adjacent forest roads. Smoke will be most visible along
Highway 26 and Forest Roads 3350 and 500 during the Spears burn, and from
Paulina and along Forest Road 58 during the Upper Beaver burn.
Prescribed burning is part of
a Forest Service program to remove hazardous fuels in order to reduce the
potential for high-intensity uncharacteristic fire, while restoring low
intensity fire to a fire-adapted ecosystem and improving range and forest
health.
Prescribed burning is a
proactive approach to fire management, reintroducing fire in a planned, low
intensity manner that benefits the resources, instead of waiting for an
unplanned ignition, such as lightning, to start a wildfire that requires an
expensive suppression response and can burn with destructive intensity.
The Forest Service
appreciates public tolerance of increased smoke and vehicle traffic in support
of these restoration goals.
For more information on
prescribed burning plans, or to be added to a burning notification list,
contact Assistant Fire Management Officer Sam Pearcy at (541) 416-6428 or spearcy@fs.fed.us
Spears burn unit
Upper Beaver burn unit
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