Regional prescribed burns set by USFS
From our weekly issue dated March 18, 2009
This spring the U.S. Forest Service’s Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest will conduct prescribed burning (also known as controlled burning) on approximately 1,376 acres as weather and air quality conditions permit.
“Carefully controlled,” these burns will range in size from 6 to 400 acres and vary in management objectives.
At the Wild Rivers Ranger District the forest service plans to conduct numerous prescribed burns on approximately 620 acres. This includes some 400 acres of under-burn activities and numerous hand-pile burns of 220 acres more or less.
- About 100 acres of pile burns and maybe 400 acres of under-burns are scheduled in the Waters Creek area roughly 16 miles north of Cave Junction.
- Approximately 75 acres of pile burning will be conducted in the Longwood Complex Fire area near Hogue Pasture/Sunstar/Takilma some 10 miles south of Cave Junction. The fire occurred in August 1987.
- There will be some 15 acres of pile burns in a ridge between Elder Creek and Althouse Creek 8 miles southeast of Cave Junction.
- Pile burns on 30 or so acres will take place in various Illinois Valley locations.
For additional information, 592-4000, or 471-6500.
“Allowing periodic, low-intensity fires to be reintroduced in Southwest Oregon helps not only the health of our forest, but will also help reduce fire hazards,” said Rob Budge, deputy fire staff in Fuels.
“Using these prescribed burns, or controlled burns, to thin out a forest that is crowded with densely packed trees and overgrown brush will help ensure the safety of homes and structures that are in outlying areas and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires,” he said.
The forest service uses prescribed burn to achieve a number of objectives in silviculture, wildlife management, hazard reduction and fire suppression. Prescribed fire, said the agency, can thin out sapling trees and seedlings, eliminate tree slash on the ground, and remove high fuel loads. Also, provide for fire protection, reduce the risk of insect and disease outbreaks, and improve wildlife habitat and soil productivity.
Several conditions must be met before prescribed burns can be conducted on federal land, including determining proper humidity, wind speed and direction, temperature and fuel moisture. A fire team will conduct a controlled burn only if the weather conditions and fuel moisture content allow for safe and successful burning operations, said Budge.
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The forest service follows all state regulations for smoke management and only initiates these burns when weather conditions are appropriate for smoke ventilation. The State of Oregon Smoke Management Office will indicate suitable weather conditions for smoke dispersal.
Budge said that a federal team of fire specialists will monitor the smoke and weather conditions to determine the best time to light a prescribed burn or controlled burn to make sure smoke travels away from city populations.
For more information about the fall season burning program, contact the Interagency Prescribed Fire Information Line at (541) 618-2354 or (800) 267-3126. This phone line provides regular updates to the public regarding prescribed fire information for Medford District BLM and Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.
Do not phone 911 for burn information as such calls could interfere with people making emergency calls.
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