120 acres of pile burning planned Monday by southern area of Suttle Lake

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Sisters Ranger District fuels specialists plan to conduct 120 acres of pile burning Monday adjacent to the southern portion of Suttle Lake, located 15 miles northwest of the town of Sisters.

Ignitions are slated for Monday and expected to be completed by end of the day. No road or trail closures are anticipated. Smoke impacts are expected to be minimal; however, smoke may be visible from the greater Sisters area, Camp Sherman, and along Highway 26 between Sisters and Santiam Pass.

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, there is a real benefit to burning this type of vegetation. The piles are concentrations of leftover materials associated with previous vegetation management activities intended to remove hazardous fuels that can burn during summer wildfires.

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  www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes and follow us on Twitter @CentralORFire. For further questions contact the Sisters Ranger District at (541) 549-7700.