Prescribed burns continue Tuesday near Sisters, Sunriver

If conditions remain favorable, firefighters on the Deschutes National Forest are planning continued ignitions south of Sisters near the Milli Fire scar and south of Bend and east of Sunriver on Tuesday.

Firefighters are planning ignitions on the 150 acre Bon East 2C unit, located east of Sunriver on Forest Road 9720. Burning in this unit is designed to decrease hazardous fuels accumulations within the wildland-urban Interface near to the city of Sunriver and surrounding values at risk to reduce the risk of high-intensity wildfire as well as reintroducing fire into a fire adapted ecosystem.

Firefighters will take up to two days to ignite the 174-acre SAFR 126 unit, about 3 ½ miles southwest of Sisters along Forest Road 15. This unit is directly north of the Milli Fire scar and across the road from the SAFR 124 units that have just been completed.

Burning in this unit is designed to decrease hazardous fuels accumulations within the wildland-urban Interface near the city of Sisters and surrounding communities and to reduce the risk of high-intensity wildfire.

Due to the location of these units, the public will likely see smoke from Sisters and drivers may experience smoke impacts on Highway 20 and 242 and nearby forest roads. For all prescribed fires, signs will be posted on significant nearby Forest roads and state highways that could be impacted.

Electronic sign boards will be utilized to help reduce speed and keep traffic flowing. No road closures are anticipated with these projects. The public is encouraged to close their windows at night and if smoke is on the roadway, turn on headlights and slow down while traveling through smoky areas.

The public’s health is important to the Forest Service, the agency said. While significant preventive measures are taken, many factors influence a person’s susceptibility to smoke, including severity and duration of smoke exposure and a person’s health. If individuals feel impacted by smoke, they should avoid outdoor physical exertion and remain indoors. If people experience serious health impacts from the smoke, they should contact their doctor. For more information about smoke and health, visit the Oregon Health Authority recommendations through this link: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Preparedness/Prepare/Pages/PrepareForWildfire.aspx#health

Fuels specialists will follow policies outlined in the Oregon Department of Forestry smoke management plan, which governs smoke from 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/