Pile burning continuing this week across Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Fuels specialists on the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District are resuming pile burning across the district this week. The district will continue pile ignitions into the new year, as favorable conditions exist.

Fuels specialists primarily will be igniting “landing” piles, which are large piles dispersed throughout the district with a small number of piles in one given area.

Piles slated for ignitions through Tuesday are located near Crane Prairie Reservoir, west and east of Sunriver, southeast of La Pine and east of Lava Butte.

During the holiday season, fuels specialists will work to limit ignitions near populated areas, instead focusing on piles located in more remote areas of the district.

Once ignited, piles are monitored by firefighters until declared out. No road or trail closures are anticipated.

Piles may smolder, burn, and produce smoke for several days after ignition. While smoke may linger in the area, there is a real benefit to burning this type of vegetation. The piles are concentrations of leftover materials associated with previous vegetation management activities intended to remove hazardous fuels that can burn during summer wildfires.

When smoke is present, motorists should reduce speed and turn on headlights. All efforts will be made to limit smoke impacts to area neighborhoods and communities. The possibility exists for smoke to settle in low-lying areas due to cool night-time temperatures. Residents in areas near burn operations are encouraged to close windows at night to avoid possible smoke impacts.

For more information on hazardous fuels reduction projects in Central Oregon, visit the interactive website at http://www.centraloregonfire.org/  or visit  www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes and follow on Twitter @CentralORFire. For further questions, contact the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District at (541) 383-5300.