Bend, Ore. – Starting as early as tomorrow, fuels specialists on the Deschutes National Forest intend to ignite several prescribed burns across the forest beginning east of Highway 97, 1 mile west of Horse Butte along the south side of Bend, and 3 miles west of Sisters, adjacent to Black Butte Ranch.
If conditions remain favorable fuels specialists will continue burning a unit 3 miles northwest of Wickiup Reservoir on either Friday or Saturday and will move west of Bend at the beginning of next week with two additional prescribed burns.
The prescribed burns scheduled for tomorrow include an 80-acre unit south of Bend is located within the designated Deschutes Skyline Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration boundary which receives funding towards accelerated forest restoration. There is also a 51 acre prescribed burn planned outside of Sisters that is part of the Glaze Meadow Forest Restoration Project.
On Friday or Saturday, fuels specialists are planning to burn a 281 acre unit 3 miles northwest of Wickiup Reservoir. There is a possibility of continuing to burn in the South Bend area west of Horse Butte if conditions remain favorable.
Finally, additional prescribed burns are scheduled west of Bend beginning on Monday. The first is COD 9, a 78 acre unit within the West Bend Project area about 3 miles southwest of Bend, across from Widgi Creek Golf Course. Next up could be “Wet Unit 3,” an 85 acre unit south of Skyliner’s road on the east side of the Skyliner subdivision.
All prescribed burns have been scheduled to take advantage of the cooler and more humid fall season. These prescribed fire projects are being conducted to reduce the threat of large scale wildfire to the community of Bend.
No road closures are anticipated with any of the projects although drivers can expect road flaggers on Skyliner’s Road during periods of time where dense smoke may limit visibility. Smoke from the South Bend unit will likely impact Woodside Ranch residences, particularly those located along Ridgeview Drive. Smoke from the West Bend COD burn could impact the Highlands subdivision and the golf course in Tetherow as well as Widgi Creek, Entrada, and Inn of the 7th Mountain, which are also nearby. Smoke from the Wet Unit 3 burn will impact Skyliner residents.
Homes and businesses in the areas of all of these prescribed burns are advised to keep their windows and doors closed during the night hours to avoid any potential smoke impacts.
For more information, visit the Deschutes National Forest website at www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes and follow us on Twitter @CentralORFire.
If you see local news happen, call the Horizon Broadcasting Group News Tip Hotline at 541-323-NEWS, or email us.
