Prescribed fire managers work to reduce the risk of severe wildfires, share online interactive map

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Pacific Northwest Region

Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

1550 Dewey Ave., Suite A

Baker City, OR 97814

https://www.fs.usda.gov/wallowa-whitman

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WallowaWhitmanNF

Twitter: @WallowaWhitman

Contact: Peter Fargo, 541-523-1231

 

Prescribed fire managers work to reduce the risk of severe wildfires, share online interactive map

 

BAKER CITY, Ore. (October 19, 2020) – The fall window for prescribed burning has opened for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.  Prescribed fire is an important way to maintain and improve forest conditions with “good fire” as we reduce the risk of severe wildfire in the future.

This fall, Wallowa-Whitman prescribed fire information is available to the public on a new interactive online map.  The map is labeled and color-coded to show the status of each burn unit (planned, active, or completed) within the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests.  For convenience, forest users can now view current and past-year burn units along with National Forest boundaries and State wildlife management boundaries. 

Fire history studies have shown that fire has long been a dominant natural process in the Blue Mountains — maintaining open, park-like conditions in low- to mid-elevation forests of ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and larch.  Prescribed fire has a wide variety of benefits, including reducing dead and down fuels, thinning understory trees, stimulating natural fire-tolerant plants, enhancing forage, reducing the risk of stand-replacement fires, and creating strategic fuel breaks near urban-interface areas.  The Wallowa-Whitman’s prescribed fire program allows fire to play its natural role on the landscape under controlled conditions.

Fire managers have been working with County, State, and Regional partners to limit smoke in our communities.  This will be accomplished by prioritizing burn units that are further away from, and downwind of, populated areas.  Selecting smaller burn units will also reduce the amount of smoke produced in a single day.  Managers will be consulting daily with the Oregon State Smoke Forecast Center to determine when, where, and how much to burn.

The Wallowa-Whitman prescribed fire units listed below may be available for burning this fall as conditions allow:

Whitman Ranger District (WRD) – (541) 523-6391 (Baker, Halfway, and Unity). The WRD may conduct prescribed burning on up to 5,000 acres.

  • Foothills (350 acres) – 4 miles west of Baker City, Oregon
  • East Face (350 acres) – 15 miles west of North Powder, Oregon
  • Deer (750 acres) – 1 mile northeast of Sumpter, Oregon
  • Union Miners (500 acres) – 2 miles north of Phillips Lake, Oregon
  • Mile 9/Sheep (500 acres) – 5 miles west of Unity, Oregon
  • Goose (1,000 acres) – 17 miles northwest of Richland, Oregon
  • Barnard (250 acres) – 6 miles northwest of Halfway, Oregon
  • Sparta (250 acres) – 2 miles north of Sparta, Oregon
  • Little Dean (500 acres) – 1 mile south of Phillips Lake
  • Broman (500 acres) – 8 miles northwest of Unity
  • Pine Valley (500 acres) – 5.5 miles north of Halfway

The Wallowa Fire Zone (WFZ) – (541) 426-4978 (Wallowa Valley Ranger District, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, and Eagle Cap Ranger District). The WFZ may conduct prescribed burning on up to 11,500 acres.

  • Chesnimus Elk (1,992 acres) – 30 miles northeast of Enterprise, Oregon
  • B-Vine (2,259 acres) – 30 miles north/northeast of Enterprise
  • Muddy Sled (2,367 acres) – 20 miles north of Enterprise
  • Cold Canal (1,570 acres) – 20 miles southeast of Joseph, Oregon
  • Puderbaugh (3,293 acres) – 30 miles southeast of Joseph

The Grande Ronde Fire Zone (GRFZ) – (541) 963-7186 (La Grande Ranger District). The GRFZ may conduct prescribed burning on up to 4,000 acres.

  • Horse Fly (621 acres) – 13 miles southwest of La Grande, Oregon near Vey Meadows and Blue Springs
  • Trail (714 acres) – 8 miles northwest of La Grande near Mount Emily
  • Birdtrack (2,120 acres) – 9 miles west of La Grande in the Spring Creek area
  • Sandbox (744 acres) – 12 miles southeast of Union, Oregon near Catherine Creek Sno-Park

Please note that where and when burning occurs, and how many acres treated within a prescribed fire unit, will vary due to weather, fuel conditions, smoke dispersion, and other variables.  All areas may not be within prescription this fall, and implementation will likely not occur on every acre as planned.  Other project areas may have additional acres within prescription for implementation.

To learn more about current and planned prescribed fires in the area, please visit:

Interactive Prescribed Fire Map for the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests

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