Prairie City Ranger District to begin prescribed burning
By Logan Bagett on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
PRAIRIE CITY – (Press Release from the Malheur National Forest)
Elk 16 FB prescribed burn is set to begin with approximately 200 acres initially, with a full completion of 1,160 acres on the Prairie City Ranger District. This unit is located 1.5 miles South of Short Creek Guard Station and approximately 10 miles northeast of Crane Prairie, between Elk Creek Campground and Little Crane Campground on Forest Service Road 16.
Ignitions are planned to begin in the coming weeks, weather conditions permitting. The public may see and smell smoke throughout the operations and are encouraged to use caution around the area. Smoke may impact Forest Service Road 16 and adjacent campgrounds. Firefighters will continue to monitor the area for several days after completion.
Each prescribed burn is designed to accomplish specific objectives related to increasing forest health. Prescribed burns will be conducted only under appropriate conditions to ensure firefighter and public safety. Appropriate conditions include correct temperatures, wind, fuel moisture, and smoke weather forecast. When these criteria are met, firefighters implement, monitor, and patrol the burn to ensure the forest health and public safety goals are met.
Prescribed fire information is available to the public on a tri-forest online map. The map is labeled and color-coded to show each burn unit’s status: planned, active, or completed. Additionally, forest users can view other features including current and past-year burn units, National Forest boundaries and State wildlife management boundaries.
Daily updates can be found at https://www.facebook.com/MalheurNationalForest.
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.
