Foresters torch slash piles

It's a little unusual to see smoke rising on the Sisters skyline in late January. The unseasonable springlike weather opened a window of opportunity to take care of some unfinished business in the Sisters Country forests - and local foresters jumped on it.

Crews last week got busy torching slash piles on 300 acres of forest to the southwest of town, debris left behind from the SAFR project (Sisters Area Fuels Reduction).

Sisters Ranger District fuels specialist Trevor Miller said that there are about 20 piles per acre. He figures that the small crew of smoke jumpers and firefighters can take care of between 150 and 300 acres, depending on how long the favorable weather conditions last.