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.
-End-
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