Pile burning gets underway across C. Oregon

Several hundred acres of slash piles are planned to be burned across Central Oregon over the next two weeks, Deschutes National Forest officials said Tuesday.

Officials said that likely is contributing to hazy skies Tuesday across Central Oregon, along with debris burns and other possible sources, such as woodstove smoke on a very cold morning.

Units in several different areas, including west of Bend, north of Cottonwood Road in Sunriver, east of the High Desert Museum, south of Deschutes River Woods, near Burgess Road in La Pine and west of Cardinal Bridge and Benham West in Sunriver are slated for ignition in the next two weeks.

The units west of Bend can be viewed via the West Bend Interactive map here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/webmaps/deschutes/west-bend/

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, officials said.

The piles are concentrations of leftover materials associated with previous vegetation management activities intended to remove hazardous fuels that can burn during summer wildfires.

No closures are anticipated with these operations. However, if smoke drifts on to roads, motorists should slow down, turn on headlights, and proceed with care. Once ignited, units are monitored by firefighters until they are declared out.

Fuels specialists 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.

For more information, visit the Deschutes website at www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes and follow us on twitter @CentralORFire.