Warm Springs begins largest-ever 4,500-acre prescribed burn

It’s the largest prescribed burn in the history of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation: Some 4,500 acres are scheduled to burn between Tuesday and Friday.

A prescribed burn of that size normally takes weeks to complete, Brad Donahue with Warm Springs Fire said Tuesday. But thanks to a helicopter and some special pingpong balls, they can do it within a day.

“But this is (also) a training exercise, so we’re expecting this to last at least a few days,” Donahue said.

The pingpong balls are filled with potassium, and after they’re injected with glycol, they burst into flames.

The method is making prescribed burning faster and cheaper.

“What they’re going to do i,s they’re going to fly over the burn area and then drop these spears out and light the small fires for us,” Donahue said.

Warm Springs firefighters aren’t the only ones training on this prescribed burn.

“You have drones that can carry supplies: chemicals and water,” said Aurolyn Stwyer, business manager at Warm Springs Ventures. “You have another type of drone that can detect hot spots.”

The Warm Springs drone program is deploying drones to train for a wildfire.

“It’s hard to know, with research and development, when the actual hardware is ready to fly,” Stwyer said.

Nine months ago, the County Line 2 Fire ripped right through Warm Springs.

“This whole area around me was all burnt,” Donahue said, pointing at the hills behind him. “It’s already greening up.”

Donahue said fire conditions are much better this year. compared to last, with higher snowpack levels. But officials are still gearing up to make sure fire danger this year is kept to a minimum.

“To bring this (prescribed burn method) to the Warm Springs Reservation has been a dream for us,” Donahue said.