[With the announcement today that the Northeast Oregon District has ended fire season, the entire state is now officially out. It was an active season. On the 16 million acres protected by ODF, 1,117 fires burned 51,198 acres. Compared to the 10-year average, that is 174 more fires and more than double the acreage burned.]
News Release from the Oregon Dept. of Forestry, Oct. 23, 2014:
officially terminated for forestlands protected by the Oregon Department of
Forestry (ODF), Northeast Oregon District. This includes private, state, county,
municipal and tribal lands in seven counties: Union, Baker, Wallowa, Umatilla
and small portions of Grant, Malheur and Morrow. Scattered rain showers
throughout the district over the past few weeks, combined with cooler fall
temperatures has reduced the fire danger.
However, John Buckman, Northeast Oregon District Forester, reminds the public
to implement safe practices when using fire in the fall months.
“Fall is a good time to burn forest slash or yard debris, but please
recognize that just one sunny and windy day can change conditions very
quickly,” he said. “Each fall we respond to escaped fires, so please
continue to use fire in a responsible manner.”
Technical advice for burning and smoke management can be obtained from your
local ODF office.
With the termination of fire season, requirements such as providing
firefighting equipment at logging sites or obtaining a burning permit for burn
barrels are no longer in effect. However, termination of fire season does not
relieve landowners or forest operators of lawful responsibilities concerning
the safe burning of debris or slash. Windy conditions combined with warm
weather could cause unpredictable fire behavior.
Specific Smoke Management/Burning Advisory Information:
– Unless you are in a rural or city fire department protection area, burn
permits for burn barrels and small amounts of yard debris are not required. If
you are under the protection of a rural or city fire department, please call
and ask what their burning restrictions are. Burning within the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation requires a permit from the CTUIR.
Follow all requirements within the permit.
– Burning of slash from forestry and logging activities requires a Notification
of Operation/PDM from the Oregon Department of Forestry. In addition to this
permit, the local Oregon Department of Forestry office must be contacted prior
to ignition.
Before burning in northeast Oregon, it is important to check weather conditions
related to smoke management. For smoke management forecasts call (541)963-9781
or visit the following website:
– Slash Burns must be registered with the local Oregon Department of Forestry
office at least seven days prior to burning and burning accomplishments
reported within seven days after burning.
The Northeast Oregon District of the Oregon Department of Forestry would like
to thank forest landowners, forest operators and the public for their efforts
in fire prevention, detection and suppression activities this season. After
back-to-back record fire seasons for the State of Oregon, the Northeast Oregon
District was again able to keep acres burned below the 10-year average of 2,207
acres.
Firefighters in the district suppressed 105 fires, which burned just 1,038
acres. Additional resources such as helicopters, bulldozers and single-engine
air tankers partially paid for with General Fund monies from the State of
Oregon helped significantly to check fire spread quickly in a year in which
there were numerous large fires burning throughout the state.
These additional resources were part of the coordinated effort employed by ODF,
which also included rural fire departments, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, local contractors, landowners and
a long-standing relationship with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land
Management.
For further information, contact the Oregon Department of Forestry at these
local offices:
La Grande Unit (541) 963-3168
Baker City Sub-Unit (541) 523-5831
Wallowa Unit (541) 886-2881
Pendleton Unit (541) 276-3491
To report a fire, call 9-1-1.
Northeast Oregon District Wildfire Blog:
http://neodistrictfireblog.blogspot.com/ODF on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ORDeptForestry
Christie Shaw, (541)886-2881, (541)263-0661
Jamie Knight, (541) 963-0195, (541)786-0501