Prescribed burns planned near Sisters, Hole in the Ground
Taking advantage of cooler weather and localized precipitation, Deschutes National Forest fuel specialists and firefighters are conducting two more prescribed burns this week, beginning Wednesday near Hole in the Ground and continuing Thursday southwest of Sisters.
On Wednesday, fuels specialists were igniting a 570-acre prescribed burn four miles north of Hole in the Ground, approximately 20 miles southeast of La Pine.
While no closures are associated with this burn, officials said residual smoke may linger in low areas for the following days and in the evenings, so individuals traveling through the area may see smoke for several days.
The next burn slated for ignition will be done by new firefighting recruits and supervised by experienced firefighters. The new firefighters are the newest members of the Central Oregon Fire Management Service (COFMS), a service-first organization made up of Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests and Prineville BLM fire staff.
This week, COFMS is hosting an interagency series of fire classes to train new wildland firefighters. This year’s class of 45 students has spent time in the classroom learning about fire behavior, the incident command system (ICS), and wildland firefighting techniques and will spend time in the field learning how to dig fire line, utilize pumps and hoses, and how to safely put fire on the landscape.
The new recruits will be supervised and assisted at all times by experienced and qualified wildland firefighters, officials said.
The 28-acre unit slated for treatment is one mile southwest of Edgington Road community and three miles southwest of Sisters. This unit was selected to be burned to decrease hazardous fuels accumulations within the Wildland Urban Interface near Tollgate and Sisters. An additional 108 acres could be burned by fuels specialists, if conditions remain favorable.
Due to the location of this unit, the public could see smoke and drivers may experience smoke impacts on nearby highways and forest roads, officials said.
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 this project. Residences and businesses in the area are advised to keep their windows and doors closed during the night hours to avoid any potential smoke impacts.
Fuels specialists will 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.
Keep up with prescribed burns in Central Oregon by visiting this live map: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/webmaps/deschutes/cofms-rxfire/
