Prescribed Burning Season Begins on the Deschutes

Central Oregon – With consistently warmer temperatures, fire managers on the Deschutes National Forest will be taking advantage of favorable weather conditions and begin igniting prescribed burns across the Deschutes National Forest as early as Monday.

The first burn will take place on April 2, approximately 2 ½ miles west of Sisters, ½ mile west of the Tollgate subdivision and 1 mile north of Crossroads subdivision. The burn unit (SAFR NE 231) is 95 acres and should be completed in one day.

Burning in this unit is designed to decrease hazardous fuels accumulations within the Wildland Urban Interface near to the city of Sisters and surrounding communities to reduce the risk of high intensity wildfire as well as improving wildlife habitat.

Burning is likely to continue later next week across the forest and in the weeks ahead. Several high profile burns are planned around Sisters, Bend, La Pine and Sunriver, including units west and south of Bend, adjacent to Sisters and near the High Desert Museum. Notifications will be made when each potential unit comes into prescription, meaning when precise wind and weather conditions are forecasted and fire staff is available to execute the burns safely.

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

-End-

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.

More juniper burning planned on Crooked River National Grassland

Central Oregon – Fire managers on the Crooked River National Grassland plan to burn slash piles on approximately 209 acres tomorrow, Thursday, March 29, if weather and conditions allow.

Burning these units will improve critical winter range for big game while reducing hazardous fuel loading to lower the risk of large-scale wildfire across the landscape.

Beginning late in the morning tomorrow and continuing through the end of the day, fire managers will take advantage of the warm, drier weather to burn juniper piles scattered across several units adjacent to Grandview, the Three Rivers subdivision and Lake Billy Chinook.

Smoke will be visible throughout the week from Highway 97, but no delays or impacts to travel are expected; however, if smoke drifts onto roads, motorists should slow down, turn on headlights, and proceed with care. Piles may smolder, burn, and produce smoke for several days after ignition. 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.

Juniper burning planned on Paulina Ranger District

Central Oregon – Fire managers on the Ochoco National Forest plan to burn downed juniper on approximately 120 acres near Black Canyon Wilderness on the Paulina Ranger District this morning, if weather and conditions allow. The burning will take place in the Upper Beaver project area, about 15 miles northeast of Paulina, Ore. in the vicinity of Rager Ranger Station near Bronco Reservoir.

This type of prescribed fire, known as “jackpot burning,” addresses high concentrations of naturally-occurring or thinning-related downed woody debris. Burning these units will improve critical winter range for big game and provide better connectivity of sage grouse habitat while reducing hazardous fuel loading to lower the risk of large-scale wildfire across the landscape.

The project is partially funded by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Burning is scheduled to begin about 10 a.m. today, and work should be completed by the end of the day. Smoke will be visible today and tomorrow from Forest Road 58 and Highway 380 near Paulina, but no delays or impacts to travel are expected; however, if smoke drifts onto roads, motorists should slow down, turn on headlights, and proceed with care. Jackpots may smolder, burn, and produce smoke for several days after ignition. 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 jackpot burning) and attempts to minimize impacts to visibility and public health.

Juniper burning planned on Crooked River National Grassland

Fire managers on the Crooked River National Grassland plan to burn downed juniper on approximately 537 acres next week, as weather and conditions allow. The burning will take place just east of Highway 26 about 7 miles south of Madras, in the Juniper Springs area.

This type of prescribed fire, known as “jackpot burning,” addresses high concentrations of naturally-occurring or thinning-related downed woody debris. Burning these units will improve critical winter range for big game while reducing hazardous fuel loading to lower the risk of large-scale wildfire across the landscape.

The burning is scheduled to begin about 10 a.m. on Tuesday, February 20, and continue for one or two days as needed.

Smoke will be visible throughout the week from Highway 26, but no delays or impacts to travel are expected; however, if smoke drifts onto roads, motorists should slow down, turn on headlights, and proceed with care. Jackpots may smolder, burn, and produce smoke for several days after ignition. 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 jackpot burning) and attempts to minimize impacts to visibility and public health.

Prescribed burning planned for Crooked River National Grassland

Central Oregon – Fire managers on the Crooked River National Grassland plan to take advantage of the warm, drier weather to prescribed burn two project areas beginning next Monday, February 5, 2018. The Juniper Springs burn is located 7 miles south of Madras, and east of Hwy. 26, and the West Mountain View project is located 6 miles west of Madras. Both projects will burn downed juniper to reduce hazardous fuel buildups, as well as improve critical winter range for big game animals.

The burns are expected to take 2 days complete, and smoke will be visible for several days after ignitions are completed. Smoke may be visible from Hwy. 26 and along the West Mountain View Road; however, no delays or impacts to travel are expected. If smoke drifts onto roads, motorists should slow down, turn on headlights, and proceed with care. Once ignited, units are monitored by firefighters until they are declared out.

Any decision to move forward with prescribed burn plans will depend on appropriate weather conditions and fuel moisture, as well as adequate staffing and public notifications. All prescribed burns have been scheduled to take advantage of the cooler temperatures, which moderates fire behavior to allow fuels specialists to remove hazardous fuels, reducing the potential for high-intensity uncharacteristic fire, while restoring low intensity fire to a fire-adapted ecosystem and improving range and forest health.

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 follow us on Twitter at @CentralORFire

-End-

Pile burning planned on Crooked River National Grassland

Fire managers on the Crooked River National Grassland plan to burn slash piles on approximately 1,370 acres this week, as weather and conditions allow.

Burning these units will improve critical winter range for big game while reducing hazardous fuel loading to lower the risk of large-scale wildfire across the landscape.

Beginning late in the morning tomorrow and continuing through the end of the week, fire managers will take advantage of the warm, drier weather to burn juniper piles scattered across several units adjacent to Grandview, the Three Rivers subdivision and Lake Billy Chinook.

Smoke will be visible throughout the week from Highway 97, but no delays or impacts to travel are expected; however, if smoke drifts onto roads, motorists should slow down, turn on headlights, and proceed with care. Piles may smolder, burn, and produce smoke for several days after ignition. 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.

Pile Burning Continues Near La Pine, Sunriver and Deschutes River Woods

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.