Ochoco National Forest to resume prescribed burning
After a hiatus from prescribed burning the last five days due to regional air stagnation, forecast weather conditions favorable to burning on the Ochoco National Forest will allow fire managers to resume burning on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The National Weather Service air stagnation warning is scheduled to be lifted Tuesday morning.
Forecasts show south to southwest winds coming into the area, which are expected to push the smoke out of communities in Crook County. A chance of rain is forecast later in the week to follow the planned Tuesday and Wednesday ignitions.
Multiple approaches to vegetation and fuel management have occurred in the areas to be burned. The areas have been logged and thinned, and slash piles burned.
One unit near Walton Lake is part of a sheep grazing allotment, and grazing has reduced the accumulation of grasses and other fine fuels.
The prescribed burning of the land is a continuation of management to improve forage and habitat in the area. Reintroducing fire back into a fire adapted ecosystem will help lessen wildfire severity in the future, officials said.
If conditions remain favorable, firefighters will ignite the 216-acre Claypool Springs unit on Tuesday morning.
The unit is located two miles northeast of Spears Meadow, off Forest Service road 2610-150.
Following completion of ignitions, holding resources will stay on the unit the remainder of the day, while remaining wildland fire personnel will move to ignite the Canyon 20 unit. Canyon 20 is 371 acres, located a half a mile west of Walton Lake just off of the 22 road.
Planned ignitions on Wednesday will be in the Colby 4 unit, a 264-acre unit in the northwest corner of the Maury Mountains, 5 miles south/southwest of Post.
Meanwhile, on the Deschutes National Forest’s Sisters Ranger District, ignitions were underway Monday on the 275-acre Flymon 6 burn, nearly 30 miles north of Sisters and five miles west of the Three Rivers subdivision in Jefferson County.
“Given the location of the burn, topography in the area, and current forecast, smoke is expected to move away from populated areas,” fire officials said.
For current Central Oregon prescribed fire information, visit www.centraloregonfire.org or follow on Twitter at CentralORfire .
