Fire managers on the Ochoco National Forest plan to take advantage of recent warm, dry weather to implement two prescribed burn projects north of Big Summit Prairie beginning Tuesday and continuing through the week.
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Deschutes County is launching a new grant program that will provide funding for projects that reduce the risk of wildfire.
Continue Reading If conditions remain favorable, firefighters on the Crescent Ranger District are planning to conduct a prescribed burn Thursday 12 miles west of Crescent and ½ mile east of Camp Makuala, on the south shoreline of Crescent Lake.
Continue ReadingFire managers are planning to ignite a prescribed understory burn next Tuesday and Wednesday on the Deschutes National Forest east of La Pine. Officials say prescribed burning will help maintain the Ponderosa pine ecosystem by reducing heavy accumulation of ground fuels and improving habitat for native plants and wildlife. The prescribed burn unit is 700
Continue ReadingIn a time of increasing wildfire activity, Oregon State University Extension Service said Friday it has implemented a new statewide fire program to help facilitate forest and range management plans, as well as create a healthy respect of fire through education and outreach efforts. The program, led by the OSU Forestry & Natural Resources Extension
Continue ReadingContinued dry and windy conditions brought new fires to western Oregon Wednesday morning, adding to ongoing fire activity. Suppression efforts are continuing, with cooperators, industrial landowner partners and the Oregon Department of Forestry providing ground resources in several ODF districts. Two fires have grown in size due to continued east winds and difficult access: The
Continue ReadingFire managers on the Deschutes National Forest plan to ignite a prescribed understory burn near Crescent Wednesday. Officials said the burn will help restore and maintain the fire-adapted Ponderosa pine forest ecosystem. The units being burned are 23 acres in the Marsh project area. They are located approximately 12 miles west of Crescent and a
Continue ReadingWhile nowhere near the scale of California’s devastating blazes, the Oregon Department of Forestry said late Tuesday it is working with cooperators and industrial landowner partners to suppress several small wildfires across western Oregon. The majority of the blazes were reported at less than 10 acres in size, they said, but two had grown in
Continue ReadingFire managers plan to burn 10 acres of hand piles along the C.O.D. trail west of Bend this week. The unit lies within the West Bend project area. It is located along the C.O.D. trail near junction 20, about a half-mile east of the Cascade Lakes Welcome Station. The trail will remain open, but trail
Continue ReadingNearly 300 Oregon firefighters mobilized by the Office of State Fire Marshal to join firefighting efforts in Northern California went to work Monday, the day after their arrival. Six strike teams, represented by Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple, of the OFSM, sent to the 350-acre Burris Fire in Mendocino County, received their assignments
Continue Reading(Update: Details of Oregon strike teams’ deployments) Fifteen strike teams comprised of members of the Oregon fire service arrived in California Sunday and were assigned to assist with separate wildfire incidents threatening structures and property in Northern California, officials said late in the day. Following a late-afternoon briefing with California Department of Forestry & Fire
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As fall weather brings shorter days and cooler temperatures, fuels specialists with the Bureau of Land Management Prineville District Office are preparing for the fall/winter prescribed burn program. As early as Friday, and continuing through the next few months, depending on conditions, specialists will treat a variety of areas with prescribed fire across Central Oregon.
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As we head toward winter, Deschutes National Forest rangers are still working to protect our forests from wildfires — at times, by setting them ablaze. A 78-acre prescribed fire as set Tuesday at Shevlin Park, and a public tour was held to let community members learn more about prescribed fires. In an effort to maintain
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(Update: Adds details, quotes) BOISE, Idaho (AP) — One option in a plan to battle devastating wildfires in southwestern Idaho, southeastern Oregon and northern Nevada creates 1,500 miles of fuel breaks up to 400 feet wide along existing roads. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Friday released a draft environmental impact statement for the
Continue Reading A 78-acre prescribed fire is scheduled for Shevlin Park west of Bend next Tuesday and the park will be closed for the day, the Bend Park and Recreation District said Friday. A tour opportunity is available for community members interested to learn more about prescribed fire. To maintain and restore forest health and reduce the
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Fire managers on the Deschutes National Forest plan to ignite three prescribed burn units on Monday and Tuesday of next week. These prescribed fires will be understory burns to restore and maintain the fire-adapted ecosystem, officials said. The East Maintenance Prescribed Burn (627 acres) is located on the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District, approximately 5 miles
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Fire and fuels specialists will begin burning slash piles across the Deschutes National Forest this week as fall weather brings more moisture, shorter days and cooler temperatures. Beginning this week and continuing through the next few months, fuel management specialists will burn a variety of pile units on the Sisters, Bend-Ft. Rock and Crescent ranger
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SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A task force created by Gov. Kate Brown says climate change, overstocked forests and understaffed fire teams have placed Oregonians in extreme risk, necessitating a multi-billion-dollar program to safeguard the state from calamity. The Statesman Journal reports the council held its final meeting Thursday and will submit recommendations to Brown in
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Recent cool temperatures and precipitation have brought an end to the 2019 fire season for Oregon Department of Forestry’s Central Oregon District. At 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, fire season will officially be terminated. Wildland fuels across the district do not pose a significant risk of rapid fire growth, however weather and fuel conditions during the
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The 4-day-old, lightning-sparked Red Fire west of Crescent Lake in the Diamond Peak Wilderness has grown to 350 acres, and Klamath County emergency managers have issued a Level 1 BE READY evacuation notice for Crescent Lake, Odell Lake and Crescent Junction.
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