The burning season has arrived

Fire crews will soon put the torch to forests around Sisters as the Sisters Ranger District's annual spring burning programs get underway.

Starting in the next two weeks, burning will be conducted in the Canal Project south of Sisters along Road 16 (Three Creek Road); in the Underline Project west of Sisters and around the perimeter of Black Butte Ranch.

The fire crews try to burn when wind and temperature conditions minimize smoke. However, Mark Rapp of the Sisters Ranger District said, that downwind areas are likely to be afflicted with some smoke from the burning.

The east end of Sisters, toward the Lazy Z, sometimes traps smoke drifting down from the Canal burn.

The Underline burn includes areas around Tollgate, Crossroads and Cold Springs Campground. According to Rapp, smoke can sometimes drift down the Trout Creek drainage as far as Trapper Point.

The burning around Black Butte Ranch could send smoke down Indian Ford Creek.

Additional underburning will take place along Highway 20 where crews did thinning work last year.

The burning will cover a total of about 1,000 acres and is designed to reduce fuels that could feed a major conflagration in the event of a wildfire.

Rapp said that people with severe respiratory problems can be contacted regarding specific burning times and locations. To be placed on an alert list, or for further information, call the Sisters Ranger District at 549-2111.