Central Oregon–With the cooler,
wetter, weather, fire managers will continue pile burning on the Deschutes
National Forest beginning Saturday. The piles are leftover accumulations of
woody material associated with previous vegetation management activities near
numerous subdivision and roads. Removing these dense accumulations of fuel near
homes, facilities and roads will create defensible space around communities.
Beginning today and continuing through
next week, fire managers will ignite 1,100 acres of slash piles around La Pine
(Ponderosa Way), near: Huntington/Vandevert Road, Fall River Fish Hatchery, Big
River Campground and Boundary Road; Sunriver area near: Sunriver Airport and
along Highway 97 from Sunriver to State Recreation Road; and Bend area, near:
Deschutes River Woods and Lava River Cave.
Piles may smolder, burn, and produce
smoke for several days after ignition.
Removing this accumulation of fuel is one of the final steps to creating
a restored and healthy ponderosa pine ecosystem and protecting communities from
additional fuel loading in forested areas adjacent to private land.
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.
