Another 344 acres of prescribed burning planned Monday west of Bend, near Cascade Lakes Welcome Station

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District firefighters plan to resume prescribed burn operations a mile west of Bend near the Cascade Lakes Welcome Station on Monday. If conditions are favorable, ignitions will occur on up to 344 acres south of the Cascades Lakes Highway on the northwest side of Forest Service Road 41 near the junctions for the Aspen Day Use and Dillion Falls Day Use areas.

Firefighters plan to begin ignitions around 10 a.m. on the Tiddlywinks 8/9 Prescribed Burn. Smoke will be visible from Bend and the surrounding area. Residents in Bend and those south and east of the Deschutes River, including Sunriver and La Pine, are encouraged to keep doors and windows closed to minimize smoke impacts. Smoke impacts are most likely overnight and in the early morning hours.

Trail and road closures will be in place for public and firefighter safety. Catch and Release Trail will be closed from the junction with Storm King south to the junction with Tyler’s Traverse. Forest Service Roads 600 and 650 will also be closed. The closures are anticipated to last up to a week following ignitions.

Firefighters will reopen the trails and roads once they assess conditions and determine the area is safe. The southbound lane of Forest Service Road 41 also will be closed. Pilot cars will be escorting traffic through the area. Drivers can anticipate a short delay.

The prescribed burn is within the West Bend Project area and received thinning and mowing to reduce vegetation loading prior to burning. 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, officials say. Once firefighters ignite prescribed burns, they patrol the units until they declare the burn out.

This prescribed burn is occurring within the Central Oregon Landscape, one of 21 focal landscapes identified within the Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy. The implementation of this prescribed burn supports the Deschutes National Forest’s commitment to addressing the Wildfire Crisis Strategy which aims to reduce severity of wildfires, protect communities, and improve the health and resiliency of fire-dependent forests.

Prescribed burns can protect homes from tragic wildfires. Fire management officials work with Oregon Department of Forestry smoke specialists to plan prescribed burns. Prescribed burns are conducted when weather is most likely to move smoke up and away from our communities. While prescribed fire managers take significant preventive measures, it’s likely that communities may experience some smoke during or immediately after a prescribed burn. 

What does this mean for you?

During prescribed burns, smoke may settle in low-lying areas overnight and in the early morning hours.

• All residents are encouraged to close doors and windows at night to avoid smoke impacts.
• If available, use a portable air cleaner. Air cleaners work best running with doors and windows closed. You can also create a DIY air cleaner.
• If you have a central air system, use it to filter air. Use high-efficiency filters if possible.
• When driving in smoky areas, drivers should slow down, turn on headlights and turn air to recirculating.
• If you have heart or lung disease, asthma, or other chronic conditions, pay attention to how you feel and if symptoms of heart or lung disease worsen, consider contacting your health care professional.
• Go to centraloregonfire.org to learn more about smoke safety and prescribed burning in Central Oregon and visit When Smoke is in the Air for more smoke preparedness resources.

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 X/Twitter @CentralORFire. Text “COFIRE” to 888-777 to receive wildfire and prescribed fire text alerts.