Prescribed burns planned Tuesday on Deschutes, Ochoco NF

Fire managers on the Ochoco National Forest plan to take advantage of predicted moisture in the Ochoco and Maury Mountains to ignite two prescribed burns Tuesday.

The forest has completed about 400 acres of prescribed fire in the Wiley Flat area of the Maury Mountains over the last 10 days, but ceased burning as the temperature rose and conditions dried.

With another pulse of moisture predicted, the Forest hopes to finish its juniper jackpot burning in the Maurys and complete an underburn along Forest Road 22 just north of Big Summit Prairie.

The East Maurys jackpot unit is 80 acres located just east of Forest Road 16 in the Wiley Flat area. This burn would ignite dead and down juniper trees with the goal of removing hazardous fuels to prevent unwanted high-intensity wildfire, and to improve forage conditions for livestock and wildlife.

The Canyon unit is 196 acres located along Forest Road 22 near Big Summit Ranger Station. The goal for this prescribed burn is to remove hazardous fuels along Forest Road 22, which is a critical transportation route identified in the Crook County Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

Both burns are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m., with ignitions continuing for two or three days as necessary.

Smoke will be very visible from both Forest Road 16 in the Maury Mountains and Forest Road 22 near Big Summit Prairie. Signs will be posted along travel corridors, but no other impacts to drivers are expected.

All prescribed burning is dependent on weather and planned in accordance with smoke management standards administered by the State of Oregon.

If you want to receive email notifications prior to prescribed burns on the Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland, send a request to Assistant Fire Management Officer Sam Pearcy at spearcy@fs.fed.us

Visit the forest’s website for a virtual map of all current and planned prescribed burn units: http://go.usa.gov/c6CXR

Prescribed burning season also begins Tuesday on the Deschutes National Forest’s Crescent Ranger District with an 111-acre burn near Boundary Springs Campground.

If conditions remain favorable, fuels specialists will complete the burn in units located between Forest Road 9768 and the Boundary Springs Campground along Walker Rim, about 6 miles southeast of Crescent.

The purpose of the prescribed fire is to reduce ground fuels and the number/density of seedlings and sapplings-sized trees to create larger trees more resistant to insects and disease and resilient to withstand wildfire.

Smoke could be visible from the surrounding areas. While no closures are anticipated with these operations, 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.

Keep up with prescribed burns in Central Oregon by visiting this live map: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/webmaps/deschutes/cofms-rxfire/

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