Curious about the smoky haze in the Southern Willamette Valley?

There are several active wildfires in Western Oregon, including the Deception Complex on the Willamette National Forest. A great source of information for Oregon communities affected by wildfire smoke is the Oregon Smoke Information Blog at http://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com/. Additional information about active wildfires is available on inciweb at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/.

                                    

Corrected URL for the Willamette Valley Prescribed Blogspot

Please be advised that the postcards that went out were missing a letter in the URL, the correct URL for the blogspot is http://willamettevalleyprescribedfire.blogspot.com/

2014 Controlled burns

August 28, 2014 Dear Resident:  We wanted to let you know that there will be a controlled burn taking place in your area sometime in the coming months. The Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, City of Eugene, Fish and Wildlife Service, Lane County and The Nature Conservancy plan to conduct controlled burning on lands in the southern Willamette Valley to protect and restore valuable biological diversity in prairie and savanna ecosystems.  Burning is planned on up to 614 acres between now and the end of October. Individual burn units, shown on the attached map, range from less than an acre to 210 acres. The Willamette Valley was once dominated by prairies rich with a diversity of grass and wildflower species. This ecosystem requires regular disturbance to maintain native species and prevent conversion to a closed woodland or forest. This disturbance was historically provided by native people through regular intentional burning, and accomplished several biological goals like improved seed germination, removal of built up thatch, and short term soil fertilization.  All of these factors help native, fire-dependent species, such as camas, flourish after a site is burned.  In addition, controlled burns reduce the risks of wildfires to local residences through the removal of standing dead vegetation. We work hard to protect the community from potential negative impacts of fire. Experienced and highly trained fire crews plan and manage fires using detailed burn plans with extensive prescriptions for conducting the burn to provide maximum protection for the community.  We mow breaks around the perimeter of each burn unit to prevent fire from traveling outside area.  The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency reviews our plans each year, specifying conditions under which burns may proceed.  We carefully consider weather conditions and burn only on days when the wind will blow smoke away from residential areas. For this reason, we usually cannot specify days burning will occur more than 24 hours in advance.  If you would like to receive pre-burn notification for a particular unit, please contact Jennifer Velez at jvelez@blm.gov or (541) 683-6415. We will also have a fire information line at 541-683-6970. We will post updates throughout the burn season on the Willamette Valley Prescribed Fire Facebook page; go to http://www.facebook.com and search for “Willamette Valley Prescribed Fire.” Interactive maps are also hosted on our new blog site www.willamettevalleyprescribedfire.blogspot.com.

2014 Prescribed Fire Units

Spires Ecological prescribed fire planned for Thursday September 19, 2013

On Thursday September 19, 2013 The Bureau of Land Management in conjunction with the City of Eugene and the Rivers to Ridges partners are planning to burn the Spires units (unit 4).

If you would like to receive pre-burn notification for a particular unit, please contact Michael Mascari at mmascari@blm.gov or (541) 683-6415. We will also have a fire information line at 541-683-6970. We will post updates throughout the burn season on the Willamette Valley Prescribed Fire Facebook page; go to http://www.facebook.com and search for “Willamette Valley Prescribed Fire.” Interactive maps are also hosted on our new blog site www.willamettevalleyprescribedfire.blogspot.com.

Before any prescribed burn can be done, a detailed fire management plan must be developed. This rigorous process determines the acceptable conditions under which burns can be carried out. “Prescriptions” are developed for each of the areas to be burned that dictate under what weather conditions (relative humidity, wind speed and direction, air temperature, and moisture content of the vegetation) a burn can be safely managed. If  weather conditions are unacceptable on the day of a planned burn, the burn will be postponed. 

conducting prescribed burns

A prescribed burn will begin only when all of the criteria listed in the prescription are met and adequate personnel and equipment are present. Burns are ignited using drip torches, portable canisters used to drop small amounts of flame along the fire breaks. The fire is  lit in such a way to take advantage of the current weather conditions to ensure the flames travel in a specific direction. A variety of equipment is used to control the fire, such as hand tools, backpack water pumps, and large-capacity water pumper trucks. An individual prescribed burn is almost always completed in one day, usually over a few hours. At each burn, emergency fire suppression equipment, including water pumper trucks, are available. This equipment can be used to quickly extinguish the fire if weather conditions change or if the fire threatens to escape control.Prescribed burns are typically conducted by an array of partners, all whom have been trained to ignite and suppress wildland fires. 

Spires is Ecological Burn unit 4

September 10, 2013 at 11:27

Boot with Meadowlark in the background 

Boot completed 12:15

All three units were completed today. Firing was completed at 2:30 pm and personnel are currently are currently moping up all units.

Ecological burned planned for tomorrow September 10, 2013

On Tuesday September 10, 2013 The Bureau of Land Management in conjunction with the City of Eugene and the Rivers to Ridges partners are planning to burn the boot and Meadowlark unit then possibly Dragon Fly bend. 

Before any prescribed burn can be done, a detailed fire management plan must be developed. This rigorous process determines the acceptable conditions under which burns can be carried out. “Prescriptions” are developed for each of the areas to be burned that dictate under what weather conditions (relative humidity, wind speed and direction, air temperature, and moisture content of the vegetation) a burn can be safely managed. If  weather conditions are unacceptable on the day of a planned burn, the burn will be postponed. 

conducting prescribed burns

A prescribed burn will begin only when all of the criteria listed in the prescription are met and adequate personnel and equipment are present. Burns are ignited using drip torches, portable canisters used to drop small amounts of flame along the fire breaks. The fire is  lit in such a way to take advantage of the current weather conditions to ensure the flames travel in a specific direction. A variety of equipment is used to control the fire, such as hand tools, backpack water pumps, and large-capacity water pumper trucks. An individual prescribed burn is almost always completed in one day, usually over a few hours. At each burn, emergency fire suppression equipment, including water pumper trucks, are available. This equipment can be used to quickly extinguish the fire if weather conditions change or if the fire threatens to escape control.Prescribed burns are typically conducted by an array of partners, all whom have been trained to ignite and suppress wildland fires.