The State of Oregon fire agencies have been using ignitions on their Prescribed fires to burn off heavy fire fuels and to help with healthy renewals of the forest’s lands. This is also to help mitigate fire prevention.

A prescribed fire is a planned fire; it is also sometimes called a “controlled burn” or “prescribed burn,” and is used to meet management objectives. A prescription is a set of conditions that considers the safety of the public and fire staff, the weather, and the probability of meeting the burn objectives. – NPS

April 29, 2023, may be another day of prescribed fire burning for the Central Oregon forest lands, in which there will be operations conducted if the weather permits to enable those from the Sisters Ranger District tomorrow.

This will occur about four miles southwest of Sisters near FS Road 1513. This will be conducted by the Sisters RD firefighters along with support from the Central OR TREX Prescribed Fire Training participants.

(below) Photo Credit: Central OR Fire Info

On Friday, April 28, 2023, several Prescribed Fires occurred.

DESCHUTES NATIONAL FOREST

Hole-in-the-Ground: 1.5 miles from this location and just north of Hwy 311, planned 450 acres burn.

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Prescribed fire is one of the most important tools used to manage fire today. A scientific prescrip-tion for each fire, prepared in ad-vance, describes its objectives, fuels, size, the precise environmental conditions under which it will burn, and conditions under which it may be suppressed. The fire may be designed to create a mosaic of diverse habitats for plants and animals, to help endangered species recover, or to reduce fuels and thereby prevent a destructive fire. – NPS

Sisters Ranger District: West of Tollgate Subdivision. 85 acres and 100 acres along FSR15, two miles west of Sisters.

SE of Sisters: A test burn was underway in the area about three miles southeast of Sisters on Friday just after 1000 hours PDT, by firefighters with the Central OR Fire. They completed 57 acres burned off. They were working this morning from RX burning to mop up to secure the fire’s perimeter.

(below) Photo Credit: Central OR Fire

(below) Photo Credit: Central OR Fire Info

SE of La Pine: Just after noon today, a test fire was conducted as the East Maintenance Prescribed Burn operation, located approximately 20 miles southeast of La Pine. They had hoped to reach their fire objective of burning off up to 417 acres.

(below) Photo Credit: Central OR Fire Info

Today, they ended the day with 396 acres burned. Firefighters were said to be staying on night operations to help cool the edges of the burn to secure the perimeter, say Fire Officials.

For More Info on Prescribed Fires: To find out more on future prescribed (RX) fires, you can visit the Central OR Fire Info website at https://www.centraloregonfire.org/.

Prescribed Fire with the National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/articles/what-is-a-prescribed-fire.htm

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