Pile burning planned next week along Geneva Road on Crooked River National Grassland

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- If conditions remain favorable early next week, firefighters will begin pile burning on the Crooked River National Grassland in the area of the Grandview Fire Roadside Danger Tree Removal project.

The Grandview pile burning will occur along Geneva Road approximately 5 miles north of Henkle Butte and will continue as conditions allow on Monday and Tuesday.

There are approximately 50 acres of piles slated to be burned in the area. The piles are concentrations of leftover materials associated with previous vegetation management activities intended to remove hazardous fuels that can burn during summer wildfires.

While no road or trail closures are anticipated with this pile burning, smoke may be visible from Crooked River Ranch, the Lower Bridge Road area, the Geneva area and possibly Highway 97, Lake Billy Chinook and the Three Rivers Subdivision. Smoke may impact Lower Bridge Road and Geneva road in the Tai Flat area.

Once ignited, piles are monitored by firefighters until declared out. Piles may smolder, burn, and produce smoke for several days after ignition. While smoke may linger in the area, removing these large accumulations of woody debris during the winter months minimizes fire danger, officials said.

When smoke is present, motorists should reduce speed and turn on headlights. All efforts will be made to limit smoke impacts to area neighborhoods and communities.

The possibility exists for smoke to settle in low-lying areas due to cool night-time temperatures. Residents in areas near burn operations are encouraged to close windows at night to avoid possible smoke impacts.

For more information on hazardous fuels reduction projects in Central Oregon, visit the interactive website at http://www.centraloregonfire.org/  or visit  https://www.fs.usda.gov/ochoco and follow on Twitter @CentralORFire.