Prescribed burn season in Central Oregon could be over soon
Isabella Warren
SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ)– Smoke could be seen across Central Oregon as fire crews ramp up prescribed burning. Tuesday, 91 acres were burned southwest of Sisters as the season comes to a close and wildfire season approaches.
“Should a wildfire start in these areas where we have conducted prescribed burning, firefighters have a greater chance of success at stopping that fire and keeping it small,” said Deschutes National Forest Public Affairs Specialist Jaime Olle.
Every year, the U.S. Forest Service conducts thousands of acres of prescribed burns across the region, to help prevent catastrophic wildfires.
Last year, fire investigators found that BLM prescribed burns prevented the Darlene 3 Fire in La Pine from destroying more land. It’s a glimmer of hope after one of the state’s worst wildfire seasons brought more than 1,900 fires and burned over 1.9 million acres in the state.
BLM spoke with KTVZ News last fall, “If you go and look at where these fuel treatments work, you’ll see a low mortality rate of the trees, whereas in the places where the fuels had not been pretreated, you’ll see a high mortality rate,” said Amanda Roberts, BLM’s Prineville District manager.
Senator Ron Wyden reintroduced legislation in May of last year to continue to support prescribed burns.
The National Prescribed Burn Act would allocate $300 million to expand the intentional fires to the winter and spring months and increase the number of acres burned a year.
Currently, 3.6 million acres are burned in the state annually.
Olle said, “Typically, these projects are strategically located across the landscape, in places where we can do the best to not only restore the forest health, but also reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire to our communities.”
The season typically lasts from mid-April to mid-June. You can find more information about the latest prescribed burns at http://Centraloregonfire.org.