Fire Management

Fire helps the forest remain healthy.

Fire has and will always be a part of the landscape of Central Oregon. The forests and rangelands of the region are shaped by the frequency, pattern, and severity at which they burn. Ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forests historically burned very frequently and with relatively low flame lengths, resulting in forests of large, widely spaced trees with scattered grasses and shrubs in many locations.

Without prescribed or naturally occurring fire in the 20^th century, shrubs and smaller trees are more prevalent, providing fire fuel that is problematic.

Prescribed fires are carefully planned and monitored to achieve goals.

Fire management is informed by research scientists who specialize in forest and fire ecology, wildlife biology, the interaction of insects and fire, and fire behavior. Fire professionals manage forest vegetation and fuels, and rely on an extensive system of monitoring to help evaluate the effectiveness of their work.

Forest management restores healthy forests and protects our communities.

Vegetation management is a year-round effort with thinning, brush mowing, and prescribed fire. Previous thinning and prescribed fire efforts were instrumental in preventing the loss of homes at Black Butte Ranch in the 2002 Cache Mountain and 2008 GW wildfires.

Some smoke in the air, while inconvenient, is a sign that important restoration work is occurring. 

Fire professionals minimize the amount and duration of smoke impacts from prescribed fires by burning when:

1) Light winds will blow smoke away from urban areas;
2) The prescribed fire area will burn completely and not smolder for long periods;
3) Following federal and state requirements; and
4) Working closely with state meteorologists and smoke forecasters.

Typically, prescribed fire smoke impacts only last a few hours, often at night or early morning hours before most people are awake.

Smoke from wildfires, on the other hand, may last for days or weeks and the air quality impacts can be significant.

Prescribed fire helps ensure we have a beautiful forest to live near, to play and work in, and to provide the many benefits we care about.

Without fire’s influence on this landscape, our fire-adapted ecosystems are less healthy in the face of fire, drought, insects, and disease. This can lead to loss of opportunities for recreation and tourism, leave our communities at greater risk to wildfire, reduce our forest’s natural ability to absorb and store carbon, effect habitat for a diversity of wildlife, decrease the resilience of the ecosystem to the effects of climate change and drought, decrease water quality, and increase potential for flooding.

Recently burned forests recover rapidly from prescribed fires, becoming healthier and more resilient to future wildfires.

The native plants and animals of Central Oregon are well adapted to fire, with different species requiring forests in different stages of development to thrive. Fire creates habitat that is important for some species, such as the black-backed woodpecker. Fire recycles nutrients and stimulates new growth of grasses and shrubs, providing habitat and food for a diversity of wildlife.