Foresters will ignite burn piles near Sisters

Sisters area residents should expect smoke in the air as Forest Service fire specialists touch off piles of wood debris along Highway 20 in the coming weeks.

According to the Forest Service, precipitation that arrived this month has permitted the agency to begin burning hand piles made last summer on the forest's Bend/Ft. Rock, Crescent and Sisters Ranger Districts by Oregon Department of Corrections, Oregon Youth Challenge and Youth Conservation Corps crew members.

The burns will continue through December.

Fire specialists will ignite piles on staggered days to limit smoke emissions and monitor them to ensure fires consume all woody debris and do not escape, spokesman Roland Giller reported.

Fire specialists on the Sisters Ranger District will ignite piles along Highway 20, between Sisters and Indian Ford Campground and near the Jack Lake Road intersection. They will post flaggers and controlled burn signs on the road if smoke blows upon it, Giller stated.

Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon Department of Corrections crews spent much of last summer forming debris piles to reduce fire danger near Black Butte Ranch and the Crossroads subdivision.

Firefighters also plan to burn about 30 large debris piles south of the Upper and Lower Three Creeks Sno-Parks. Fire specialists will not ignite the piles until snow blankets the area to ensure the fires do not escape.