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Additional burning in West Eugene Wetlands & Finley NWR on Monday

Today's burning (Sunday) went off without any issues, with the smoke quickly dispersing up and out of the Eugene area. Both Turtle Swale (near Checkermallow Access on the south side of Royal Avenue) and Speedway (west of Walmart and south of West 11th) were burned, with all ignitions complete by 1:40 pm. Firefighters continued to work until evening to extinguish all residual smolder and ensure that fire remains under control. Firefighters will continue to patrol the burn units tonight, and tomorrow.

Strong high pressure aloft over the Willamette Valley will shift east on Monday resulting in light offshore low-level flow. This will create another day of optimal burning conditions in the West Eugene Wetlands as well as the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge.

In West Eugene, approximately 7 acres will be burned in the Army Corps of Engineers Experimental Plots on the northeast shore of Fern Ridge Reservoir. These experimental plots are designed to test the effectiveness of a variety of habitat restoration treatments when combined with and without the application of fire. These small burn-units (labeled #15 on the map, below) are located south of Clear Lake Road and west of Fir Butte Road.

Burning in West Eugene Wetlands on 9/25 & 26

Favorable weather for burning and maintaining air quality is forecast for Sunday and Monday in West Eugene Wetlands. Turtle Swale (south of Royal Avenue), Speedway (north of West 18th), and Army Corps of Engineers Research Plots (between Clearlake Road and Fern Ridge Reservoir) are planned for burning. Timing and order of burning will depend on fog coverage and wind direction.

No burning in West Eugene anticipated for next several days

Friday was an excellent burn day in the West Eugene Wetlands, with ecological and air quality objectives being met in all four planned burn areas. The current weather forecast is not indicating any additional burn opportunities this week, but that may change. In the meantime, here are some photos from Friday.

Reed-canary grass, while deceptively green, is highly flammable.

Sprinklers being utilized on a burn unit near Highway 126. The sprinklers add an extra level of safety in ensuring that the fire stays under control where conditions warrant.

A crewmember from the Willamette National Forest watching fire back toward the upwind side of a burn unit.

A crewmember from the Willamette National Forest ignites flanking fire along the side of a burn unit.

Fire burns through a stand of Oregon ash, Areas where fire burns intensely will be top-killed, allowing growing space for other plants in the understory. Frequent historic and prehistoric likely limited Oregon ash to wet sites where fire did not spread.

Burning east of Fern Ridge Reservoir today (9/16)

Favorable northerly winds are in the forecast today, allowing for additional burning in West Eugene Wetlands. Burning will be in the vicinity of Fir Butte Road, and Fern Ridge Reservoir between Clearlake Road and Highway 126.

Burn units planned include:
Fir Butte- 4 ac
Royal Ave Prairies and Fisher Butte East -36 ac
Fisher Butte West -18 ac
Experimental Plots - 7 ac

Potential burning in West Eugene Wetlands on Thursday & Friday

Favorable winds and weather are predicted for burning for ecological conservation and habitat restoration in the west Eugene wetlands this Thursday and Friday, September 15th and 16th.  Ignitions are planned to begin around 11:00 tomorrow morning at Willow Creek Preserve (#5, 6, and 7 on the map) for maintenance of habitat for federally endangered Fender's blue butterfly (lcaricia icarioides fenderi) and its host plant, Kincaid's lupine (Lupinus sulphureus), as well as ecological health of oak woodlands.  Units located within the Fern Ridge Reservoir area are planned for Friday.  Stay tuned for more details!

Burning season is just around the corner

Now that widespread rain has lowered the fire danger across the region, it is beginning to look like prescribed burning season in the Willamette Valley. The first favorable weather for dispersing smoke away from burns in West Eugene is predicted to occur next week (week of September 12th). Notification postcards have been sent to properties within 1/4 mile of a planned burn unit. We are currently experiencing difficulty with our Prescribed Fire Information Line (541-683-6970). In the meantime, you may request further information or notification regarding burning of particular units by emailing ejohnson@blm.gov.

No burning in the Eugene-area for the remainder of the week

All burns in the Eugene-area were completed by 16:20 this afternoon. Conditions are not favorable for additional burning in Eugene-area for the remainder of the week, nor this coming weekend.

Burning planned in west Eugene on October 14-15

Favorable winds are forecast for Wednesday and Thursday (October 14-15) for burning in west Eugene. Burning is planned for Willow Creek (#8), Greenhill (#5), and East Kirk (#3).

Burning planned for Sunday near Eugene

Burning planned for Sunday for Units 2 (Long Tom), 3 (East Kirk), & 8 (Willow Creek). Another day of northeast wind is forecast, which is necessary to protect air quality in Eugene.

Burning Applegate units today (October 3rd)

Most of the planned burn units in the vicinity of Fern Ridge Reservoir received rain early this morning, however the Applegate units north of Elmira are still dry and will be burned first; if the other units dry out and the winds remain favorable for keeping the Valley smoke-free the units north of Fern Ridge may be burned this afternoon.

Burning planned near Fern Ridge Reservoir on Saturday, October 3rd

Planning to burn units 1, 2, 3, & 4 tomorrow, Saturday October 3rd. Ignition will likely begin at the Spires Unit around 10:00. There is still a chance of rain tonight, which would likely delay ignition until noon or later. Depending on how burning goes Saturday, there appears to be favorable weather to burn the Willow Creek units (#8) on Sunday. The current weather forecast indicates a switch to northwest wind starting Monday, which would preclude additional burning in the west Eugene area.

Burning planned to begin October 1st in the Eugene-Springfield area

Wildfire danger has sufficiently decreased, and the winds are forecasted to become favorable for ecological burning sourthern Willamette Valley starting October 1st.  Tentative plans are for burning in the Mount Pisgah area first due to favorable northwest winds. If the weather is as forecasted, Units 9 and 10 would be ignited starting in the late morning, with ignition operations complete in the afternoon.

Winds are forecast to switch to a northeasterly flow starting Saturday, which would be favorable for transporting smoke away from planned burns in the West Eugene Wetlands. The current weather forecast is uncertain as to whether the cut-off low that is bringing the wind shift will also bring any rain to western Oregon.  If significant rain does occur, this will likely preclude burning.

Planned burn units in the southern Willamette Valley

A larger-scale map of the burns planned in the vicinity of west Eugene.

A larger-scale map of the burns planned in the vicinity of Mount Pisgah.

Notification letters have been mailed to neighboring landowners

Notification letters were mailed out this week to all owners of taxlots located within 1/4 mile of planned burn units. Burning is dependent upon weather and the regional and national wildfire situation. Burning will not occur until the Northwest Preparedness Level has decreased to 3 (meaning that adequate firefighters are available for the current and anticipated wildfires). The weather also needs to be such that the fire operations would be safe, produce the desired effects, and smoke would minimally impact residents. Current weather forecast is not favorable for burning, and consequently no burning is anticipated for the week of September 12.

We are currently experiencing technical difficulty with our Prescribed Fire Information Line. Normally, the current status of burning is available on a recording at 541-683-6970.

South Eugene Meadows

Work on the South Eugene Meadows has begun.

Crew members from the Middle Fork Ranger Station cutting and piling.

 

South Eugene Meadows is a a 193 acre property south of the city of Eugene. This is one of the project sites under the South Ridgeline project, Crew will be working on a tree removal project, focusing on thinning and restoration of the project site.

South Ridge Project

South Ridgeline Project

 

The South Ridgeline project would implement the actions identified in the Lane County Wildfire Protection Plan and subsequent City of Eugene South Ridgeline Fire Fuel Reduction Project. The purpose is to reduce long term risk to people, property, and critical infrastructure from wildfire hazards through community education and reduction of fuel loads in the heavily forested 2,000 acres of public lands in the South Ridgeline area of Eugene, Oregon.

Residential land uses, invasive species, overstocked forests, and changes in the climate have resulted in decadent forest conditions heavily loaded with fuels. These heavy fuel loads combined with steep slopes and inaccessible areas along more than 20 miles of ridgeline make the public parkland vulnerable to fire suppression challenges and pose a significant wildfire risk to thousands of residents and their homes, critical communication towers, transmission power lines, other electric utilities, water reservoirs, and critical infrastructure.

The Project Goals:

1). Implement landscape-scale fuels reduction treatments to reduce the risk of damaging wildfires in the WUI areas of the Ridgeline to create a more fire resilient landscape;

2). Promote public awareness, engage participation, and enhance partnerships through education, outreach and coordination of diverse and representative groups of the City of Eugene’s population.

3). Implement and maintain greater coordination among local, state, and federal land management agencies and private landowners to effectively prioritize hazardous fuels treatments, and provide the framework for reducing the risks and consequences of wildland fire to the community

Planned burning for October 4, 2014 in the West Eugene Wetlands

For the most current information, you can also visit our Facebook page at :
https://www.facebook.com/WillametteValleyPrescribedFire

Burning in the West Eugene Wetlands mid-day tomorrow (10/4) planned for Royal Amazon (unit 3). Burn units completed today (10/3) in the Wetlands: Danebo (unit 8), Terry (unit 7), and Fir Butte (unit 6).

Rain and Winds

Due to weather constraints The Nature Conservancy was unable to complete any of the ecological burns last weekend.

Ecological Burn planned for Saturday September 27, 2014

The Nature Conservancy in conjunction with the Rivers to Ridges Partners is planning on burning 3 units totally 63 acres on Saturday September 27, 2014. These burn units are located south of the West 18th Ave. and west of Bertelsen Ave/ Bailey Hill Ave. The objectives of two of the units of the ecological burn are to enhance habitat for endangered Fender's blue butterfly and its host plant Kincaid's lupine, to top-kill shrubs and stamp sprouts, and reduce vegetative cover for voles. The last unit is undergoing restoration from an historic bent grass field to a native upland prairie.

Real-time Air Quality Monitoring

The interagency Real-Time smoke particulate monitoring website has both Real-Time and historical data available at:

http://airnow.gov/index.cfm action=airnow.local_state&stateid=38&mapcenter=1&tab=0

"Raw data presented in the site are collected in "near-real time" and are intended only as an indicator of recent air quality. Data must be interpreted with caution. The data have not been validated by human review and may contain errors. These data are provided for public awareness and Federal Land Manager review only. They should not be used in any medical or scientific study" from app.airsis.com/USFS/