Prescribed burns set for next few months: Agencies will burn nearly 15,000 acres, mostly in Jackson, Josephine counties
Mail Tribune
Medford, Oregon
BY PAUL FATTIG
October 9, 2009
Desert Ridge fire, at night, Crater Lake National Park |
Federal agencies plan to burn more than 14,500 acres of forestlands this fall and spring, most of it in Jackson and Josephine counties.
The annual prescribed burning is intended to improve forest health while reducing the potential for summer wildfires that may threaten homes in rural communities.
Plans call for burning 6,994 acres on the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Medford District, 6,222 acres in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and about 1,400 acres in Crater Lake National Park.
“Prescribed burning reduces the amount of fuels in the forest by removing brush and other material such as branches, leaves and smaller trees,” said Rob Budge, the forest’s deputy fire staff officer, in a prepared statement.
“It will help thin out the area, which contributes to overall forest health,” he added. “Prescribed burns over designated areas reduce the risk of large-scale wildfires that threaten adjacent communities.”
In addition to reducing the threat of a catastrophic fire, the prescribed burns return nutrients to the soil, reduce risk of insect and disease outbreaks and create better wildlife habitat.
The goal is to burn as much of it as possible this fall, but how much depends on the weather, officials said.
The prescribed burns are controlled fires that include either understory burning or burning hand piles of woody debris, brush and small saplings. Underburning is a low-intensity ground fire intended to replicate a natural burn. If done properly, the prescribed burns don’t harm the larger trees, officials note.
In an effort to reduce smoke pollution and improve dispersal, the agencies work with the Oregon Smoke Management Office. Several conditions must be met before burning is allowed, including proper humidity, wind speed and direction, temperature and fuel moisture.
Firefighters and fire suppression vehicles will be on hand in the event they are needed.
The forest planned burning program, expanded by fuels treatment provided by the federal stimulus package, includes 2,693 acres on the Wild Rivers Ranger District, 1,937 acres in the High Cascades Ranger District, 1,302 acres on the Siskiyou Mountains Ranger District, 248 acres on the Gold Beach Ranger District and 42 on the Powers Ranger District.
The Medford District plans call for burning 1,924 acres on the Glendale Resource Area, 1,710 acres on the Butte Falls Resource Area, 1,590 acres on the Ashland Resource Area and 1,370 acres on the Grants Pass Resource Area.
At Crater Lake National Park, the National Park Service plans to underburn 1,350 acres on a site known as the Phoenix prescribed burn unit located on the northeast section of the park. The agency also will burn 50 acres of debris piles just east of Annie Creek.
To hear a daily updated recording of prescribed burns for the forest or the BLM district, call 618-2354 or 1-800-267-3126.
Other pages in this section
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- OIT Environmental Science Students Learn at Crater Lake – Oct. 22, 2009
- Three missing people found: hunters, mushroom hunter located Saturday – October 18, 2009
- Crater Lake Wilderness: Oregon’s ‘best idea’ needs protection – October 17, 2009
- Wet weather ends fire season around region – October 13, 2009
- Roosevelt historian: He was a ‘thinker’; Brinkley will share stories from new book inaugural lecture – October 12, 2009
- Prescribed burn postponed at Crater Lake: Park Service to wait until forecasts are more favorable – October 9, 2009
- Search exercise to cover area where boy was lost – September 11, 2009
- National Park Service Announces Appointment of Dr. Gary Machlis as Science Advisor to the Director – August 12, 2009
- Extra pair pays off in Crater Lake Rim Runs – August 9, 2009
- Wilderness proposed at Crater Lake – August 07, 2009
- Oregon Wild warns legal action on Crater Lake helicopters – August 6, 2009
- Cantwell: Jarvis Well-Qualified for the ‘Greatest Job in the World’ – July 28, 2008
- Senator Wyden issues statement condemning Crater Lake National park helicopter tours – July 27, 2009
- Desert Ridge Wildland Fire continues burning at Crater Lake National Park – July 21, 2009
- Whitney Wildland Fire nears containment at Crater Lake National Park – July 21, 2009
- Cameron (Cam) Sholly has been selected as the new superintendent of Natchez Trace Parkway – July 15, 2009
- Rep. Dicks supports Jon Jarvis for nomination of National Park Service Director – July 10, 2009
- USGS volcanologist Charles Bacon gives Mount Mazama geologic history talk – June 23, 2009
- USGS volcanologist Charles Bacon receives award at Crater Lake National Park – July 8, 2009
- Review: Geologic Map of Mount Mazama and Crater Lake Caldera, Oregon by Charles R. Bacon – July 7, 2009
- Free entrance weekends at Crater Lake National Park – June 20, 2009
- Oregon Congressman Proposes “Aerial Gondola” to Wizard Island – Summer/Fall 2009
- Lichen Survey Hits the Jackpot One-Day “BioBlitz” Uncovers 61 Species Not Previously Recorded at Crater Lake – Summer/Fall 2009
- A Conversation with the Park’s Chief of Terrestrial Ecology – Summer/Fall 2009
- Black Bear Census Set to Begin: Park to Estimate Population Using Hair Samples and DNA – Summer/Fall 2009
- A promise fulfilled on roadless forests – May 28, 2009
- Crater Lake Lodge opens for 2009 season – May 21, 2009
- Marcella Isabella Stine (1918 – 2009) – May 22, 2009
- Lawrence Campbell Merriam Jr. (1923 – 2008) – May 22, 2009
- Wayne R. Howe: 1920 – 2008 – May 21, 2009
- Passing of John Bowdler (1925 – 2009) – May 4, 2009
- Parks receive stimulus funds: Crater Lake, Lava Beds to use funding for improvements – April 24, 2009
- Mercy Flights makes life-saving donation to Crater Lake park – February 24, 2009
- Rescue at Crater Lake: specialized rescue team saves man from icy slope – February 2, 2009
- Former National Park Service director George B. Hartzog Jr. dies – January 31, 2009
- Ski patrol member watches over park: Niel Barrett is a charter member of the ski patrol at Crater Lake National Park – January 30, 2009
- Paradise in Blue: Snowshoe trek at Crater Lake informative, easy, free – January 22, 2009
