Prescribed burns planned southeast of Sunriver
Fuels specialists will continue prescribed burning on Friday, with ignitions planned for five miles southeast of Sunriver. Friday ‘s ignitions will begin around 11 a.m. and will cover 158 acres.
If conditions remain favorable, fuels specialists plan to burn approximately 300 more acres over the weekend. No road or trail closures are expected. Smoke will be visible from Highway 97.
The use of prescribed fire in Central Oregon’s fire adapted ecosystems restores forests to healthier conditions, reduces and removes dense vegetation that contributes to high intensity wildfires and protects communities.
Prescribed burning will be completed by fire staff from the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests, Oregon Department of Forestry, Sunriver Fire, as well as, students from the Nature Conservancy’s Central Oregon Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX) program, an interagency collaboration to expand education surrounding prescribed fire.
Communities including Sunriver, Crosswater, Vandevert Ranch, Oregon Water Wonderland and La Pine can expect to see residual smoke impacts following the ignitions of these units. Fire crews will continue to patrol and monitor burns for several days after the initial ignitions.
For all prescribed burns, fuels specialists follow policies outlined in the Oregon Department of Forestry smoke management plan, which governs prescribed fires, and attempt to minimize impacts to visibility and public health. Once ignited, units are monitored and patrolled until they are declared out.
For more information, visit the interactive Deschutes National Forest website at https://www.fs.fed.us/r6/webmaps/deschutes/cofms-rxfire/ and follow us on Twitter @CentralORFire.
For further questions please contact: Kassidy Kern, Public Affairs Specialist, (541)383-5576 , kkern02@fs.fed.us or Jaimie Olle, Public Affairs Specialist, (541)383-5578 , jaimiemolle@fs.fed.us.
