Oct. 10, 2017 UPDATE: The Spears prescribed burn has
been postponed due to a forecast for high winds today.
PRINEVILLE, Ore. – Fire managers on the Ochoco National Forest plan to conduct a 1,200-acre prescribed burn near Spears Meadow next week, along Highway 26 east of Prineville, if weather conditions permit.
Fire managers will continue
looking for opportunities to reschedule the burn, possibly later this week
depending on weather.
PRINEVILLE, Ore. – Fire managers on the Ochoco National Forest plan to conduct a 1,200-acre prescribed burn near Spears Meadow next week, along Highway 26 east of Prineville, if weather conditions permit.
This prescribed burn is part of an ongoing series of
treatments in the area to restore fire to a fire-adapted forest ecosystem,
reduce hazardous fuel loading, and improve range conditions for livestock and
big game.
The unit is located west of Highway 26 along Forest Road
3350, about 19 miles east of Prineville. See accompanying map of the burn unit,
or view a map of current and proposed prescribed burn units in Central Oregon
here: https://www.fs.fed.us/r6/webmaps/deschutes/cofms-rxfire/
Ignitions are planned to begin on Tuesday, October 10 and
last for two to three days as needed to complete the unit. Smoke is likely to
impact nearby Highway 26 during periods of active burning. Sign boards and
flaggers will be present along the highway as needed.
At night, due to cold night time temperatures, smoke will
pool into low level areas and may come into Prineville. This smoke should be of
short duration during the early morning hours until the inversion lifts and
clear back out of the valleys.
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.
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