Planned burn in Deschutes National Forest halted after test fire fails
Harley Coldiron
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Deschutes National Forest firefighters canceled a planned prescribed burn on Wednesday after a test fire was unsuccessful. The Flank Four project is located 15 miles southeast of Bend.
The cancellation occurred because environmental conditions were not favorable, likely due to local winds. While crews have successfully ignited hundreds of acres south of Bend throughout the week, officials determined they could not proceed with the Flank 4 ignitions on March 25.
The Flank four unit encompasses up to 1,270 acres on the west side of Forest Service Road 18. The project site is located just north of the junction of Forest Service Road 18 and Forest Service Road 25.
The burn area is situated near the Camp II Off-Highway Vehicle Staging Area. Firefighters had been working throughout the week to ignite hundreds of acres in other areas south of Bend prior to the unsuccessful test fire at the Flank four site.
Firefighters are planning ignitions on Flank four through Friday as conditions allow.