Two prescribed burns planned for Ochoco NF

PRINEVILLE, Ore.— With the arrival of moisture and light snow in the Ochoco Mountains last night, fire managers plan to finish burning the Canyon 193 unit tomorrow, located along Forest Road 22 west of Big Summit Prairie.

Firefighters began work on the Canyon 193 unit earlier in the week by burning about 46 acres of containment lines around the unit and along Forest Road 22, which is a critical transportation route identified in the Crook County Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

Beginning tomorrow around 10:30 am, and subject to weather conditions, they will finish burning the remaining 150 acres within the unit. The goals for this prescribed burn are both to remove hazardous fuels to reduce fire danger along the travel corridor and to reintroduce fire into a fire-evolved ponderosa pine ecosystem.

Light smoke will be visible along Forest Road 22 and in the immediate area during ignitions, but no other impacts to visitors are expected.

Starting next Monday, April 17, firefighters plan to begin work on the Willow Pine burn units, which total 800 acres located 18 miles northeast of Paulina and about 2 miles south of Frazier Campground within the Paulina Ranger District. Ignitions are planned to begin around 11:00 am Monday morning and continue for 2 or 3 days as necessary to complete the project and dependent on weather conditions.

Light smoke will be visible from the Post-Paulina Highway and along Forest Road 58 and adjacent forest roads during ignitions. Smoke will also be visible for 2 or 3 days following active ignitions.

The burning of these units will provide better connectivity of sage grouse habitat, improve critical winter range for big game and simultaneously reduce hazardous fuel loading to lower the risk of large-scale wildfire across the landscape.

All prescribed burning is dependent on weather and planned in accordance with smoke management standards administered by the State of Oregon.

If you want to receive email notifications prior to prescribed burns on the Ochoco National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland, send a request to Assistant Fire Management Officer Sam Pearcy at spearcy@fs.fed.us

Visit our website for a virtual map of all current and planned prescribed burn units: http://go.usa.gov/c6CXR

For media inquiries, contact Patrick Lair at plair@fs.fed.us or (541) 416-6647