Forest Service to ignite burn season this week

The Sisters Ranger District will touch off the first controlled burn of the season along Highway 20 west of Cascade Meadow Ranch on Thursday, April 20.

According to fire specialist Kirk Metzger, the burning is expected to continue on Friday and “on every open day we can after that,” Metzger said.

“Usually we have 400 or 500 acres burned by now, but because it’s been a wet spring we have been unable to conduct any controlled burning,” he said.

That means the Forest Service will try to squeeze in more burning days in May. Burns are conducted when conditions are deemed right for safe burns and good smoke dissipation. Metzger said technicians will try to use winds to keep smoke out of residential areas, but he acknowledges that there will be more smoke than usual hanging around Sisters due to the higher-intensity schedule.

The prescribed burn program this spring could include some 1,500 planned acres. These areas of underburning are located in the Canal treatment area, two miles southwest of Sisters near Edgington Road. Other project areas are: Underline, located south and west of Sisters High School, also the Hwy. 20 project area, located along the Hwy. 20 corridor, and Metolius Basin project area near Camp Sherman. (See map for locations).

“There is little doubt smoke from controlled burns can be inconvenient, but it is also clear fire can effectively reduce brush and woody debris that can feed the uncharacteristic wildland fires that have become common near Sisters in recent years,” said fire specialist Jinny Pitman.

She noted that since 2002 fires have scorched four times as many acres in the Metolius River basin northwest of Sisters than they have in the previous 100 years.

Those wildfires included the Eyerly Fire, the Cache Mountain and link fires that threatened Black Butte Ranch and the massive B&B Complex Fire of 2003.

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality officials recommend the following precautions to reduce breathing problems from smoke: Close doors and windows on structures. Stay indoors if possible. Avoid strenuous outdoor activities. Avoid areas near your home with the highest smoke concentrations. Follow breathing management plans if you have asthma or other respiratory problems and contact your health care provider if your condition worsens.

For more information call 549-7700.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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