Prescribed Fire Operations Update
By Mindy Gould on Friday, October 15th, 2021 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News Eastern/Southeast Oregon Top Stories
BURNS/HINES, OR-Fire officials continue to monitor conditions for prescribed fire operations daily.
Emigrant Creek Ranger District has completed 4,300 acres in the Wolf F unit located in the Magpie Table area and approximately 1,100 acres in the Silvies 7 unit located south of the Silvies River and west of National Forest Road 31. Crews will continue to patrol both units through the weekend. Potential to continue work on the remaining approximate 1,700 acres on Silvies 7 could continue Tuesday, October 19.
Prairie City Ranger District will be monitoring conditions for the potential to continue work within Elk 16 IB. Conditions permitting, crews may potentially begin ignitions in Elk 16 unit or units in the Dads area.
Blue Mountain Ranger District, crews from Grayback Forestry will be working on creating blackline around Murderers Creek 11 and may begin ignitions through the weekend.
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 atwww.fs.usda.gov/malheur or call the Supervisor’s Office at 541-575-3000.
