Wednesday, April 24, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
BURNING: Fire
is natural part of
forest ecosystem
Continued from page 1
the resilience the forest had
100 years ago. Fire was part
of that. Fire made the forest
resilient. It cleaned the for-
est 4 and it didn9t burn like it
does now.=
Reed says that, <prescribed
fire is the most ecologically
sound tool= to get that job
done.
It9s not necessarily the
most popular tool, which the
Forest Service well under-
stands. Just as the days turn
nice and warm and people are
getting outdoors and enjoying
the fresh spring air 4 there9s
smoke in it. And sometimes
that smoke settles in across
communities.
<We9re always looking
for the best wind and atmo-
spheric conditions to direct
smoke away from communi-
ties,= Reed said. However,
she acknowledges, <Whatever
residual smoke is left has
some impact.=
When night falls and winds
die, when an inversion layer
settles down, smoke can run
down Indian Ford Creek and
settle, or seep into Sisters.
That has an impact, and sensi-
tive persons can get on a list
to be notified of burning so
they can take precautions.
However, Reed notes, data
collected since 2010 shows
that prescribed burning con-
tains relatively low particulate
matter and is short-duration 4
compared to weeks of dense,
nasty smoke from blazes like
the 2017 Milli Fire that inun-
dated Sisters with smoke and
had a major economic impact.
<The tradeoff is more
smoke, more unhealthy condi-
tions during wildfire season,=
Reed said.
Beginning as early as
Thursday, April 25, fuels spe-
cialists with the Sisters Ranger
District will begin ignitions on
various units totaling approxi-
mately 1,000 acres across the
spring season. Individual units
are scattered across three sep-
arate project areas: Highway
20/Indian Ford Road (IFR),
Sisters Area Fuels Reduction
(SAFR), and Flymon projects
(see map).
The Forest Service notes
that <Temporary trail closures
will be in effect on small por-
tions of the Metolius-Windigo
trail (Trail # 99) beginning
approximately one mile south
of the Sisters Cow Camp,
extending roughly .5 miles to
the south during prescribed
fire and patrol operations on
SAFR 131.=
No road closures are antic-
ipated with any of the projects
although drivers may expect
traffic control along Highway
20 and Highway 242 during
periods of time when dense
smoke may limit visibility.
Traffic control measures are
anticipated north of Sisters
along Indian Ford Road
(Forest Service Road 1102).
Smoke from IFR26/35
may impact all communities
north of Highway 20 includ-
ing the following located in
the Indian Ford drainage,
Cascade Meadow Ranch,
Aspen Lakes, Camp Polk, and
Wilt Road. Smoke from pre-
scribed burn units within the
Sisters Area Fuel Reduction
Project (SAFR) may
impact the town of Sisters,
Crossroads, Tollgate, Cascade
Meadow Ranch and Camp
Polk communities.
Residents and businesses
in the area of these prescribed
burns are advised to keep their
windows and doors closed
during the night-time hours
in an effort to avoid poten-
tial smoke impacts. If smoke
drifts on to local roads, motor-
ists should slow down, turn on
headlights, and proceed with
care.
Fuels specialists will fol-
low policies outlined in
the Oregon Department of
Forestry smoke management
plan, which governs pre-
scribed fires, and attempts to
minimize impacts to visibil-
ity and public health. Once
ignited, units are monitored
and patrolled until they are
declared out.
For more information and
to sign up for prescribed fire
text alerts, visit the interac-
tive website at http://www.
centraloregonfire.org/ or visit
www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes
and follow on Twitter @
CentralORFire.
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