Source:
Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center
Fuels specialists from the Deschutes National Forest will ignite a small 2 to 5 acre prescribed burn Thursday as part of the Guard School training program for new wildland firefighters. Forty men and women from the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Oregon Department of Forestry have been in a rigorous training program this week, and the live fire exercise will provide an opportunity to apply and refine their newly acquired skills on a “wildfire.”
The burn will be located in the Highway 20 Project area, four miles north of the community of Sisters on the Cold Springs Cutoff (left off of Hwy 20 on Forest Service Rd 1012). This will be a second entry maintenance burn, although the primary purpose is as a training exercise.
Firefighters will practice assessing a fire, identifying suppression tactics and safety concerns, constructing line, setting hose lays, and applying mop-up techniques. The burn will be 100 percent mopped up as part of the exercise.
The live fire exercise will begin around 12:00 noon, with the active fire portion taking approximately 1-2 hours. Smoke is expected to be of short duration and will be visible from Highway 20, and Tollgate and Cascade Meadows subdivisions.
A Public Information Officer will be on scene to escort news media representatives during the active fire portion of the exercise. Field gear, including fire shelter, hard hat, Nomex clothing, and 8-inch protective leather work boots with Vibram soles will be required to visit the fire line. A limited amount of protective clothing may be provided by request; however, all media representatives must provide their own boots.
For more information about the live fire exercise or for news media personnel to borrow personal protective equipment, please call Lisa Clark (541-280-9560).
For more information about Guard School, please contact Jared Reber at the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District at (541) 383-4000.