Prescribed Burn Adjacent to High Desert Museum Scheduled for Wednesday

Ignitions planned on public land south of Bend and on High Desert Museum property

BEND – The Deschutes National Forest and High Desert Museum are partnering to conduct a prescribed burn on both High Desert Museum property and Forest Service managed lands adjacent to the museum tomorrow.

If conditions remain favorable, firefighters will begin burning at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 23. High Desert Museum (HDM) will delay opening tomorrow but visitors are invited to use and enjoy the museum beginning at 12:00 p.m. Three units are scheduled for ignitions including the 74 acre High Desert Museum unit and two South Bend units on the Deschutes National Forest for a total of 121 acres. The burn is expected to be completed by midafternoon and smoke will begin to dissipate after ignitions are complete.

“This is a great opportunity for us to work with our partners at High Desert Museum, as well as numerous other local, state and federal fire organizations, to bring fire back into this fire-adapted ecosystem,” said John Allen, Deschutes National Forest Supervisor. “This burn will restore public land adjacent to the museum and protect this well-loved and important part of Central Oregon’s culture.”

Deschutes National Forest scientists and High Desert Museum staff collaborated in designing a prescribed burn to reduce the threat of large-scale wildfire to people, property and wildlife, as well as to provide for education exhibits on the reintroduction of fire into a fire-adapted ecosystem.

“We’re located on 135 beautiful, wooded acres that haven't experienced a fire for more than 100 years,” said Dana Whitelaw, the High Desert Museum’s Executive Director. “We believe the prescribed burn will help create a more resilient forest as well as a defensible space protecting the Museum and its wildlife, art and artifacts. We’re pleased to work with the Forest Service on this project.”

On the day of the burn, Museum educators will offer hourly escorted interpretive walks starting at 1:00 pm to locations where visitors can see the burn in lieu of regularly scheduled daily programs.

Forecasted winds should push smoke east of Bend, which will limit impacts to the community. However smoke will be visible from Highway 97, Bend and Sunriver during ignitions. No road closures and traffic delays are expected. Subdivisions and communities in the area should not have smoke impacts during ignitions, however during the late evening and early morning smoke is expected to settle and possibly impact Highway 97, Deschutes River Woods, Bend, Sunriver, and the surrounding communities.

The public is encouraged to close their windows at night and if smoke is on the roadway, turn on headlights and slow down while traveling through smoky areas. The public’s health is important to the Forest Service. While significant preventive measures are taken, many factors influence a person’s susceptibility to smoke, including severity and duration of smoke exposure and a person’s health. If individuals feel impacted by smoke, they should avoid outdoor physical exertion and remain indoors. If people experience serious health impacts from the smoke, they should contact their doctor. For more information about smoke and health, visit the Oregon Health Authority recommendations through this link: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Preparedness/Prepare/Pages/PrepareForWildfire.aspx#health

Fuels specialists will 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.

Keep up with prescribed burns in Central Oregon by visiting this live map: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/webmaps/deschutes/cofms-rxfire/

For more information, visit the Deschutes website at www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes and follow us on twitter @CentralORFire. 

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Two Prescribed Burns Planned for Tuesday

Central Oregon– If conditions remain favorable firefighters will conduct prescribed burns tomorrow near Bend and Hole in the Ground.

A prescribed burn located in the Shevlin Park area will be highly visible to residents of Bend. The 77-acre burn will be located directly north of Skyliner’s Road (Forest Road 4601) across from the Phil’s Trailhead turn-off. Smoke likely will impact Skyliner’s Road, Phil’s Trailhead and the western portions of the Tetherow neighborhood during the burn. Ignitions on the burn are expected to begin around 9 or 10 a.m. and be completed by 2 p.m.  In the evening smoke is most likely to impact residences within the Northwest Crossing neighborhood. Residents are encouraged to close their windows to reduce the impacts from the smoke.

The burn in Shevlin Park is part of a multi-year agreement between the Forest Service and Bend Metro Parks and Recreation District to maintain and restore forest health and reduce the potential negative impacts of a severe wildfire on Shevlin Park, Miller Tree Farm, Tetherow and Northwest Crossing. The Oregon Department of Forestry and Bend Fire Department will assist on the burn.

The other burn, Maintenance Burn Units 2G, is more remote. The burn will be located 5 miles north of Hole in the Ground and 22 miles southeast of La Pine. The 1,000 acre burn could take up to two days to complete. Smoke may temporarily degrade visibility along State Highway 31 and impact private residences near Fort Rock and Hole in the Ground.

For all prescribed fires, signs will be posted on significant nearby Forest roads and state highways that could be impacted.  No road closures are anticipated with these projects. If smoke is on a roadway, drivers should turn on headlights and slow down while traveling through smoky areas. The public’s health is important to the Forest Service. While significant preventive measures are taken, many factors influence a person’s susceptibility to smoke, including severity and duration of smoke exposure and a person’s health. If individuals feel impacted by smoke, they should avoid outdoor physical exertion and remain indoors. If people experience serious health impacts from the smoke, they should contact their doctor. For more information about smoke and health, visit the Oregon Health Authority recommendations through this link: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Preparedness/Prepare/Pages/PrepareForWildfire.aspx#health

Fuels specialists will follow policies outlined in the Oregon Department of Forestry smoke management plan, which governs smoke from prescribed fires (including pile burning), and attempts to minimize impacts to visibility and public health.  Keep up with prescribed burns in Central Oregon by visiting this live map: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/webmaps/deschutes/cofms-rxfire/

South Bend Prescribed Burns Planned for Thursday and Friday

BEND – If conditions remain favorable, firefighters on the Deschutes National Forest are planning ignitions south of Bend on Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday, May 10, firefighters are planning ignitions on the 121 acre South Bend 446 unit located south of China Hat, approximately one mile south of the Lost Tracks Golf course and Woodside Ranch. On Friday, firefighters are planning ignitions on South Bend 137. The 250 acre unit is adjacent to Back Nine Golf course and will be visible from China Hat road.

Burning in these units is designed to decrease hazardous fuels accumulations within the Wildland Urban Interface near to the city of Bend and surrounding values at risk to reduce the risk of high intensity wildfire as well as reintroducing fire into a fire adapted ecosystem.

Due to the location of these units, the public could see smoke and drivers may experience smoke impacts on nearby highways and Forest roads. For all prescribed fires, signs will be posted on significant nearby Forest roads and state highways that could be impacted.  No road closures are anticipated with these projects. The public is encouraged to close their windows at night and if smoke is on the roadway, turn on headlights and slow down while traveling through smoky areas. The public’s health is important to the Forest Service. While significant preventive measures are taken, many factors influence a person’s susceptibility to smoke, including severity and duration of smoke exposure and a person’s health. If individuals feel impacted by smoke, they should avoid outdoor physical exertion and remain indoors. If people experience serious health impacts from the smoke, they should contact their doctor. For more information about smoke and health, visit the Oregon Health Authority recommendations through this link: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Preparedness/Prepare/Pages/PrepareForWildfire.aspx#health

Fuels specialists will follow policies outlined in the Oregon Department of Forestry smoke management plan, which governs smoke from prescribed fires (including pile burning), and attempts to minimize impacts to visibility and public health.

Keep up with prescribed burns in Central Oregon by visiting this live map: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/webmaps/deschutes/cofms-rxfire/

For Central Oregon Fire Information, please call 541-316-7711 or keep up-to-date on fire activity by following us on Twitter at @CentralORFire.

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The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to State and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world.

The BLM manages more land – more than 245 million acres - than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.

Sisters Prescribed Burns Continue Near Milli Fire Area

Ignitions continue east of Sunriver near Lava Cast Forest

BEND – If conditions remain favorable, firefighters on the Deschutes National Forest are planning continued ignitions south of Sisters near the Milli Fire scar and south of Bend and east of Sunriver on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, May 8, firefighters are planning ignitions on the 150 acre Bon East 2C unit located east of Sunriver on Forest Road 9720. Burning in this unit is designed to decrease hazardous fuels accumulations within the Wildland Urban Interface near to the city of Sunriver and surrounding values at risk to reduce the risk of high intensity wildfire as well as reintroducing fire into a fire adapted ecosystem.

Firefighters will take up to two days to ignite the 174 acre SAFR 126 unit approximately 3 ½ miles southwest of Sisters along Forest Road 15. This unit is directly north of the Milli Fire scar and across the road from the SAFR 124 units that have just been completed. Burning in this unit is designed to decrease hazardous fuels accumulations within the Wildland Urban Interface near the city of Sisters and surrounding communities and to reduce the risk of high intensity wildfire. Due to the location of these units, the public will likely see smoke from Sisters and drivers may experience smoke impacts on Highway 20 and 242 and nearby forest roads. For all prescribed fires, signs will be posted on significant nearby Forest roads and state highways that could be impacted.  Electronic sign boards will be utilized to help reduce speed and keep traffic flowing. No road closures are anticipated with these projects. The public is encouraged to close their windows at night and if smoke is on the roadway, turn on headlights and slow down while traveling through smoky areas.

The public’s health is important to the Forest Service. While significant preventive measures are taken, many factors influence a person’s susceptibility to smoke, including severity and duration of smoke exposure and a person’s health. If individuals feel impacted by smoke, they should avoid outdoor physical exertion and remain indoors. If people experience serious health impacts from the smoke, they should contact their doctor. For more information about smoke and health, visit the Oregon Health Authority recommendations through this link: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Preparedness/Prepare/Pages/PrepareForWildfire.aspx#health

Fuels specialists will follow policies outlined in the Oregon Department of Forestry smoke management plan, which governs smoke from prescribed fires (including pile burning), and attempts to minimize impacts to visibility and public health.

Keep up with prescribed burns in Central Oregon by visiting this live map: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/webmaps/deschutes/cofms-rxfire/

For more information, visit the Deschutes website at www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes and follow us on twitter @CentralORFire. 

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Ochoco prescribed burn planned near Hwy 26

UPDATE on Friday, May 11

POSTPONED UNTIL NEXT WEEK (5/14):

Due to the storms that came through over the last week, the unit was deemed too wet to burn with desirable effects.

The Forest has decided to postpone this burn until Monday, May 14, and Tuesday, May 15. 

Weather predictions are calling for precipitation in the project area sometime next week, possibly as early as Tuesday.

Resources assigned to this prescribed burn include:

•             US Forest Service & Prineville BLM

•             Sunriver Fire Department

•             Crook Country Fire and Rescue

•             Oregon Department of Forestry

•             La Grande Interagency Hotshot Crew

•             Wolf Creek Interagency Hotshot Crew

•             Heli-Rappellers from the Salmon Airbase, located on the Salmon-Challis NF

All other details below remain the same. 

PRINEVILLE, Ore. – Fire managers on the Ochoco National Forest plan to conduct a 1,200-acre prescribed burn near Spears Meadow along Highway 26 next week, if weather and conditions allow.

Weather predictions are calling for some precipitation over the weekend, which could render the unit too wet for an effective prescribed burn. Should fuel conditions meet prescription, fire managers plan to conduct ignitions starting late in the morning on Wednesday, May 9, and continuing through the following Thursday.

This unit is located just west of Highway 26 along Forest Road 3350 and Peterson Creek, about 19 miles east of Prineville. See attached map of the unit or visit our online interactive prescribed fire map to see the unit location: https://go.usa.gov/xQ9yJ

Objectives for this burn include reducing surface fuels to lessen the potential for catastrophic wildfire and restoring low-intensity fire to a fire-adapted ecosystem. About 400 acres of the 1,200 have been treated in the past 5 years, but the Forest plans to treat the entire unit next week. The whole unit will be blacklined with hand ignitions and then possibly aerial ignited with the use of a helicopter. 

If the burn takes place, smoke is likely to impact nearby Highway 26 and adjacent Forest roads during periods of active ignitions. Sign boards and flaggers will be present along the highway as needed. At night, due to cool 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. The public is encouraged to close their windows at night and if smoke is on the roadway, turn on headlights and slow down while traveling through smoky areas.

The public’s health is important to the Forest Service. While significant preventive measures are taken, many factors influence a person’s susceptibility to smoke, including severity and duration of smoke exposure and a person’s health. If individuals feel impacted by smoke, they should avoid outdoor physical exertion and remain indoors. If people experience serious health impacts from the smoke, they should contact their doctor. For more information about smoke and health, visit the Oregon Health Authority recommendations through this link: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Preparedness/Prepare/Pages/PrepareForWildfire.aspx#health

Fuels specialists will 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.

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.

Prescribed Burn Near Sisters Planned for Friday and Saturday

SISTERS – Given favorable weather conditions, Deschutes National Forest firefighters on the Sisters Ranger District plan to conduct a prescribed burn on Friday and Saturday, May 4-5.

Firefighters will take two days to ignite the 200 acre SAFR 124 unit approximately 3 ½ miles southwest of Sisters along Forest Road 15. This unit is directly north of the Milli Fire scar and 2 miles south of Crossroads subdivision. Burning in this unit is designed to decrease hazardous fuels accumulations within the Wildland Urban Interface near the city of Sisters and surrounding communities and to reduce the risk of high intensity wildfire.    

Due to the location of these units, the public will likely see smoke from Sisters and drivers may experience smoke impacts on Highway 20 and 242 and nearby forest roads. For all prescribed fires, signs will be posted on significant nearby forest roads and state highways that could be impacted. 

The public is encouraged to close their windows at night and if smoke is on the roadway, turn on headlights and slow down while traveling through smoky areas. The public’s health is important to the Forest Service. While significant preventive measures are taken, many factors influence a person’s susceptibility to smoke, including severity and duration of smoke exposure and a person’s health. If individuals feel impacted by smoke, they should avoid outdoor physical exertion and remain indoors. If people experience serious health impacts from the smoke, they should contact their doctor. For more information about smoke and health, visit the Oregon Health Authority recommendations through this link:. http://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Preparedness/Prepare/Pages/PrepareForWildfire.aspx#health

Fuels specialists will 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.

Keep up with prescribed burns in Central Oregon by visiting this live map: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/webmaps/deschutes/cofms-rxfire/

For more information, visit the Deschutes website at www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes and follow us on twitter @CentralORFire. 

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Prescribed Burns Planned for Thursday and Friday south of Bend

BEND – If conditions remain favorable, firefighters on the Deschutes National Forest are planning ignitions south of Bend and east of Sunriver on Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday, May 3, firefighters are planning ignitions on the Bon units 6-8 totaling 140 acres located between Highway 97 and Abbot Pit. Bon units 13-14 are located between Abbot Pit and the Powerline Road south of Forest Road 9720 and are also scheduled for ignition on Thursday. On Friday, firefighters are planning to ignite Bon 15 and Lavacast 9 for a total of 69 acres. These units are located in the same area as Bon units 13 and 14.

Burning in this unit is designed to decrease hazardous fuels accumulations within the Wildland Urban Interface near to the city of Sunriver and surrounding values at risk to reduce the risk of high intensity wildfire as well as reintroducing fire into a fire adapted ecosystem.

Due to the location of these units, the public could see smoke and drivers may experience smoke impacts on nearby highways and Forest roads. For all prescribed fires, signs will be posted on significant nearby Forest roads and state highways that could be impacted.  Electronic sign boards will be utilized to help reduce speed and keep traffic flowing. No road closures are anticipated with these projects. The public is encouraged to close their windows at night and if smoke is on the roadway, turn on headlights and slow down while traveling through smoky areas. The public’s health is important to the Forest Service. While significant preventive measures are taken, many factors influence a person’s susceptibility to smoke, including severity and duration of smoke exposure and a person’s health. If individuals feel impacted by smoke, they should avoid outdoor physical exertion and remain indoors. If people experience serious health impacts from the smoke, they should contact their doctor. For more information about smoke and health, visit the Oregon Health Authority recommendations through this link: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Preparedness/Prepare/Pages/PrepareForWildfire.aspx#health

Fuels specialists will follow policies outlined in the Oregon Department of Forestry smoke management plan, which governs smoke from prescribed fires (including pile burning), and attempts to minimize impacts to visibility and public health.

Keep up with prescribed burns in Central Oregon by visiting this live map: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/webmaps/deschutes/cofms-rxfire/

For more information, visit the Deschutes website at www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes and follow us on twitter @CentralORFire. 

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