Deschutes National Forest firefighters plan to start pile burning season as early as this Wednesday, if conditions are favorable. The Deschutes National Forest may accomplish up to an estimated 15,000 acres of pile burning throughout the fall and winter season, including up to an estimated 11,000 acres on the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District, 4,000 acres on the Crescent Ranger District, and 20 acres on the Sisters Ranger District.
Pile burning operations are planned for multiple locations across the Forest with some of the primary locations below:
- Bend – approximately 5 miles west of Bend near the junction of Forest Service Road (FSR) 4601 and 4602 near Triangle Hill and north of Wanoga Butte near FSR 4613 and east of Edison Butte near FSR 4188
- Sisters – approximately 2 miles south of Sisters located off of the FSR 1505
- Crescent – approximately 10 miles southwest of Crescent along Hwy 58 and Hwy 97 and 10 miles northwest of Crescent within a quarter mile of Wickiup Estates
Firefighters implement pile burning to reduce vegetation generated from active forest management such as timber sales and pre-commercial thinning treatments. The piles are concentrations of leftover materials associated with vegetation management activities being done to help maintain and restore forest and ecosystem health while reducing hazardous fuels loading.
Piles may smolder, burn, and produce smoke for several days after ignition. Once ignited, firefighters monitor piles until they declare the piles out. Please do not report ignitions. While smoke may linger in the area, removing these large accumulations of woody debris during the winter months minimizes fire danger.
Due to elevation differences units will be burned when conditions are appropriate to meet objectives.
Pile burning operations are carefully planned and implemented under specific conditions. Firefighters work with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Oregon Department of Forestry smoke forecasters to identify conditions that will minimize smoke impacts on people and communities. While prescribed burn officials take significant preventive measures, it’s likely that communities may experience some smoke during or immediately after ignitions. Most smoke impacts occur during the night and early morning hours.
For more information on pile burning and smoke preparedness in Central Oregon, visit centraloregonfire.org and for information specific to the Deschutes National Forest visit fs.usda.gov/deschutes. Text “COFIRE” to 888-777 to receive prescribed burn text alerts. Follow along on X @CentralORFire.