Crooked River Grassland burn delayed

Wednesday’s planned 200-acre prescribed fire on the east side of the Crooked River National Grassland known as “North Cyrus” has been postponed until further notice due to unfavorable weather conditions, officials said.

The North Cyrus project is located in between highways 97 and 26, about seven miles northeast of Terrebonne and 12 miles north/north east of Redmond, just south of the Cyrus Horse Camp.

In announcing the planned burn last week, the Central Oregon Fire Management Service said, “In order to achieve the objectives of reducing hazardous densities of western juniper and improving wildlife forage and rangelands, fuels specialists need to burn under summer-like conditions. Ample firefighting resources will be in place in order to accommodate burning under these conditions.”

Forest Service spokeswoman Lauren Miller said Wednesday the burn was delayed because of forecast temperatures in the 90s, when 80s are preferable for such operations. Also, she said, winds out of the south were predicted, when winds from the north are preferred for the fire plans.

Officials will re-evaluate the weather situation next week, Miller said, adding that the decision to proceed also depends on wildfire activity in the area.

For more information, visit the Ochoco/Deschutes website at www.fs.usda.gov/centraloregon