Prescribed Fire Operations Update
By Mindy Gould on Wednesday, October 6th, 2021 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
JOHN DAY, PRAIRIE CITY, AND HINES, OR-After carefully monitoring
conditions across the Forest, fire officials have determined that conditions are within specific
parameters, including temperature, relative humidity, and fuel moisture to start prescribed fire
operations in specifically planned units.
• Prairie City Ranger District – may start ignitions Wednesday, October 6th and continuing
possibly till Saturday, on the Elk 16 IB Unit, 600 acres, located North of Crane Prairie
between the National Forest Service (NFS) Road 1600-600 and the 1660-478 road.
• Emigrant Creek Ranger District – may begin implementation in Silvies 7, located south
and east of the Silvies River and west of NFS Road 31, as early as Thursday, October
7th, depending on weather conditions. 1,000 acres.
Fuels have lost moisture over the long, hot summer. Burning under dry fuels conditions allows
the fuels to potentially consume more completely and produce less smoke.
For the safety of firefighters and the public, roads and areas of prescribed fire activity will be
signed. Please avoid these areas so as not to interfere with ongoing operations. For safety,
roads, trails and areas may need to close temporarily as firefighter operations are taking place.
Smoky conditions may also reduce visibility to a level that would require additional temporary
closures. During prescribed fire operations, there is potential for impacts to camping and
hunting. Hunters are advised to plan ahead; for their safety, they should not camp in or near an
area of prescribed fire activity.
All prescribed burn activity is weather and condition dependent.
With the potential for smoke to settle in certain areas during active operations, the public can
monitor the smoke and air quality in our area and across the state by visiting
http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/.
Additional information regarding prescribed burning on the Malheur National Forest is available
on InciWeb at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7426, or by viewing the Prescribed Fire
Activity interactive map at USFS R6 Tri-Forest Prescribed Fire Map.
For further information on the Malheur National Forest, please visit us at
www.fs.usda.gov/malheur or call the Supervisor’s Office at 541-575-3000.
