UPDATE on Friday, May 11
POSTPONED UNTIL NEXT WEEK (5/14):
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
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.
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