Two prescribed burns this week on Ochoco NF

Fire managers on the Ochoco National Forest plan to conduct prescribed burning in two project areas this week, depending on favorable weather conditions.

Fire managers will burn 50- and 100-acre blocks at a time, and continue as long as weather and fuel conditions allow, officials said Thursday.

The Spears prescribed burn unit is a total of 116 acres, located about 25 miles east of Prineville near Clay Spring, about two miles southeast of Highway 26 and the Mark’s Creek residential development.

The Willow Pine prescribed burn units total 600 acres, located on the southeast corner of the National Forest, about 20 miles south of Dayville, Ore. and about five miles south of Frazier campground near Sunflower and Porcupine creeks.

The goals for both projects include improvement of wildlife habitat and range conditions, and removing hazardous fuels to reduce the future potential for high-intensity wildfire.

Light smoke will be visible during ignition periods but will be short in duration, officials said. Prescribed fire signs will be placed along adjacent forest roads.

All prescribed burning is proposed, analyzed, and planned ahead of time by the Forest Service as part of restoration and fuels management projects. Fuels specialists follow policies outlined in the Oregon Smoke Management Plan, which governs prescribed fires (including pile burning) and attempts to minimize impacts to visibility and public health.

For more information, visit the Ochoco National Forest website at www.fs.usda.gov/ochoco and follow on Twitter @CentralORFire, or visit our interactive prescribed fire map online at http://go.usa.gov/3hkwJ