Two Central Oregon prescribed burns set to continue Thursday; small fire is allowed to burn in Badlands wilderness

(Update: Burns underway, small fire in Badlands monitored: Kelsey McGee will have story at Five)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Firefighters on the Bend-Fort Rock and Crescent ranger districts plan to continue prescribed burning operations on Thursday, if conditions remain favorable.

Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District firefighters plan to continue prescribed burning about 10 miles south of Bend and five miles east of Sunriver along Forest Service Road 9720, for another 300 acres.

Smoke will be highly visible from Bend and Sunriver. Sunriver and south Bend may experience some smoke impacts. Oregon Department of Transportation and flagging personnel will monitor conditions on Highway 97.

This prescribed burn is within the Rocket Vegetation Management Planning area and has been previously thinned, pile burned and mowed. The fuels reduction work in this area decreases the potential for catastrophic wildfire to impact Sunriver. Firefighters may continue with ignitions in this area through the week, if conditions remain favorable.

Firefighters on the Crescent Ranger District will continue prescribed burning within the Gilchrist State Forest, about six miles southeast of Crescent and east of Highway 97. They hope to accomplish 37 acres Thursday.

The prescribed burn is being conducted on Walker Range Fire Patrol-protected lands through the North Walker Cross Boundary Prescribed Fire Agreement. No road or trail closures are anticipated.

Meanwhile, a small, two-tree fire in the Badlands Wilderness area east of Bend was monitored but not extinguished.

Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District firefighters on Wednesday conducted a prescribed burn 298 acres about 10 miles south of Bend and five miles east of Sunriver, along Forest Service Road 9720.

East of Bend, in the Badlands Wilderness Area, firefighters also were monitoring Incident 127, a small fire first reported Sunday that's creeping and smoldering in two juniper trees.

Fire officials say it's surrounded by minimal vegetation and sandy soil, and is being checked frequently. Smoke is visibile in the Flatiron Trailhead area. Hikers can safely walk by on the trail, officials said, but shouldn't try to put out it.

"The minimum suppression strategy for a fire in a wilderness environment is not to take direct suppression action," officials tweeted. "If conditions change, firefighters will determine if more direct action is needed."

On Wednesday, Sisters Ranger District firefighters conducted a 139-acre prescribed burn about 1 1/2 miles southwest of Sisters, north of Sisters Cow Camp and east of Forest Service Road 15. This prescribed burn is part of the Sisters Area Fuels Reduction Project. Trails in the area were rerouted during operations.

The Forest Service says prescribed burning reintroduces and maintains fire within a fire-dependent ecosystem helping to stabilize and improve the resiliency of forest conditions while increasing public and firefighter safety. Once firefighters ignite prescribed burns, they monitor and patrol the units until they declare the burn out.

What does this mean for you?

During prescribed burns, smoke may settle in low-lying areas overnight.

• All residents are encouraged to close windows at night to avoid smoke impacts
• When driving in smoky areas, drivers should slow down and turn on headlights
• If you have heart or lung disease, asthma, or other chronic conditions, ask your doctor about how to protect yourself from smoke
• Go to centraloregonfire.org to learn more about smoke safety and prescribed burning in Central Oregon

For more information on prescribed burning in Central Oregon, visit centraloregonfire.org/ and for information specific to the Deschutes National Forest visit www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes. Follow on Twitter @CentralORFire. Text “COFIRE to 888-777 to receive wildfire and prescribed fire text alerts.