NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
A3
Public use restrictions
lifted on Malheur
National Forest
Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photo/Thomas Dekany
Prairie City Ranger District fire officials burned a 100-acre unit near Prairie City Sunday.
Officials monitor conditions
for fall prescribed fires
100-acre unit
burned in Prairie
City Sunday
Blue Mountain Eagle
Prairie City Ranger
District performed a
prescribed
fire
Sun-
day, and officials con-
tinue to monitor condi-
tions for others elsewhere
on the Malheur National
Forest.
On Sunday, ignitions
began on 2b of the Dads
WUI Project with full
ignition for the 100-acre
unit planned that day.
Smoke was visible from
Prairie City and Highway
26.
The unit is located in
the Eureka Gulch/Dans
Creek area in Township
12 South, Range 34 East,
Section 35. The burn is
south of Highway 26 to
Forest Road 306 and off
of forest roads 388 and
350.
Blue Mountain Ranger
District and Emigrant
Creek Ranger District
continue to monitor con-
ditions to begin fall pre-
scribed fire activity.
For the safety of fire-
fighters and the public,
roads and areas of pre-
scribed fire activity will
be signed. Avoid these
areas so as not to interfere
with ongoing operations.
For safety, roads, trails
and areas may need to
close temporarily as fire-
fighter operations are tak-
ing place. Smoky con-
ditions may also reduce
visibility to a level that
would require additional
temporary closures.
During prescribed fire
operations, there is poten-
tial for impacts to camp-
ing and hunting. Hunters
are advised to plan ahead.
For their safety, they
should not camp in or
near an area of prescribed
fire activity.
Fall operations reduce
surface fuels, increase
height of some canopy,
reduce small tree densi-
ties and help promote fire
resilient trees, thereby
improving the ability to
protect communities from
wildfire.
Additionally,
these
prescribed fires improve
wildlife habitat and pro-
mote long-term ecosys-
tem integrity and sus-
tainability by reducing
the risk of high-severity
wildland fire.
All prescribed burn
activity is weather and
condition dependent.
With the potential for
smoke to settle in certain
areas during active opera-
tions, the public can mon-
itor the smoke and air
quality in the area and
across the state by visit-
ing oregonsmoke.blog-
spot.com.
Additional
informa-
tion regarding prescribed
burning on the Malheur
National Forest is avail-
able on InciWeb at https://
inciweb.nwcg.gov/inci-
dent/6299 or by view-
ing the Prescribed Fire
Activity interactive map
at http://arcg.is/2wUZIil.
For further information
on the Malheur National
Forest, visit fs.usda.
gov/malheur or call the
Supervisor’s Office at
541-575-3000.
Grant County flood damage assistance
available from Farm Service Agency
Blue Mountain Eagle
The
Farm
Service
Agency is accepting appli-
cations for assistance for
spring flood damage to pro-
ducers in Grant County.
Applications will be
accepted through Oct. 2 for
the Emergency Conserva-
tion Program, which pro-
vides cost-share assistance
to affected producers that
suffered damage of such
magnitude that it would be
too costly for the producer
to rehabilitate without fed-
eral assistance, according
to a press release.
A producer qualifying
for ECP assistance may
receive cost shares not to
exceed 75 percent of the
cost of installing eligible
practices. Limited resource
producers may receive up
to 90 percent cost share.
No producer is eligible for
more than $500,000 cost
sharing per natural disas-
ter. Approved practices
and measures may include
removing debris from farm-
land; grading, shaping or
releveling severely dam-
aged farmland; restor-
ing permanent fences; and
restoring
conservation
structures and other similar
installations (ditches, head
gates, diversions, etc.).
To be eligible for cost
share, practices shall not be
started until a request has
first been filed at the FSA
county office, and an onsite
inspection of the problem
area has been made by the
County Committee or its
representative. The County
Committee will review
the on-site inspection find-
ings when considering the
request for cost shares.
If approved for cost share,
all practices where ground
disturbance will take place
will need to have a cultural
resource review completed
for that area. Installation of
a practice will need techni-
cal planning completed by
the Natural Resource Con-
servation Service, except
for debris removal or fence
repair. Installation will have
to meet NRCS standards
and guidelines. Planning
will be to rebuild the dam-
aged practices to pre-disas-
ter condition. All practices
must be installed for use this
year.
Producers who have
experienced flood damage
requiring outside assistance
are encouraged to con-
tact the Grant County FSA
Office at 541-523-7121,
extension 2, to set up an
appointment.
Fire officials on the Emi-
grant Creek Ranger District
have announced the fire dan-
ger rating is now moderate
and all public use restric-
tions pertaining to recre-
ational chainsaw use, smok-
ing and off-road travel have
been lifted.
The Industrial Fire Pre-
caution has lowered to level
1. This reduction is the same
as the changes announced
on Blue Mountain and Prai-
rie City Ranger District ear-
lier this week.
A one-hour fire watch is
always required after saw
operations cease. Saw oper-
ators are required to have a
shovel (8 inches wide, 26
inches in length), and fire
extinguisher (minimum AB
8 oz.) in their possession.
Campfires should be in
fire pits surrounded by dirt,
rock or commercial rings,
and in areas not conducive
to rapid fire spread. Camp-
fires should have a mini-
mum clearance of 3 feet
from the edge of the fire pit.
Use existing pits wherever
possible. Campfires must
be attended at all times, and
completely
extinguished
prior to leaving.
Persons with campfires
should have a tool such as
a shovel and 1 gallon of
water in their possession.
The shovel and water can
be used to extinguish the
fire before leaving your
campsite. Use the “drown,
stir, feel” method to ensure
your campfire is com-
pletely extinguished before
leaving.
Campfires in designated
wilderness areas should be
located so minimal distur-
bance is necessary and to
prevent fire spread. Nat-
urally cleared areas, pre-
viously used sites, and
areas where vegetation
is non-flammable (green
grass) are examples. Use of
a folding shovel when back-
packing will aid you in com-
pletely extinguishing your
campfire.
Check with local Bureau
of Land Management and
Oregon Department of For-
estry offices for public use
restrictions in effect on lands
managed by these agencies.
For more information,
call 541-575-3000, or visit
fs.usda.gov/malheur.
Forest roads 13 and 16
open to woodcutting on
perimeter of Cow Fire
Blue Mountain Eagle
Crews have been released
from the Cow Fire southeast
of Prairie City, and the pub-
lic may now gather wood
from felled and stacked
woodpiles along forest roads
13 and 16 on the perimeter
of the fire.
Felling trees is not per-
mitted in the area. Permits
are required and may be
purchased at any Malheur
National Forest Ranger Dis-
trict office. While wood-
cutting is normally not per-
mitted on forest roads with
two-digit identifiers, the
Forest Service has temporar-
ily waived this restriction on
the 13 and 16 roads.
Material cleared along
these roads to stop the fire
has been piled next to the
roads to facilitate public
woodcutting. There is still
firefighting traffic in the area,
so the public is reminded to
drive slowly and carefully.
The Road Closure Order
remains in effect in the
vicinity of the Cow Fire and
surrounding roads. While
the 16, 13 and 1665 roads
remain open, there is still an
Area Closure in effect that
includes all roads west from
the 13 road, roads to the
north of the 1665 and roads
to the west of the 16 road
that will remain in place for
an extended period.
Elk Creek campground
also remains closed. It is
not safe to travel off road in
recently burned areas. Trees
killed or weakened by the
fire will continue to fall for
months, even during calm
weather
On Sunday, crews con-
tinued with fireline cleanup
and repair. Prairie City
Rural Fire Department per-
sonnel will carry on with
additional cleanup and
repair. Crews are repairing
firelines to prevent erosion
by building water bars to
divert runoff away from the
fireline