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 FIRE AREA EMERGENCY CLOSURE  FREMONT-WINEMA NATIONAL FOREST  PAISLEY RANGER DISTRICT  Order Number 06-02-03-20-01-01  Pursuant to Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations §261.50 (a) and (b), the following acts are prohibited on National Forest System lands and roads within the following described area on the Paisley Ranger District, Fremont-Winema National Forest, as described in attached Exhibit A. This order supersedes Order Number 06-02-03-20-01 and these prohibitions are effective immediately upon the time and date of the signature on this Order and will remain in effect until December 1, 2020, unless rescinded earlier. PROHIBITION: (1) Going onto or being within an area closed for public health and safety. 36 CFR § 261.53 (e) (2) Being upon a closed road. 36 CFR § 261.54 (e) The area described below will be closed to public access/entry due to hazards and hazardous conditions created as a result of the Ben Young Fire. AFFECTED AREA / CLOSURE AREA: All legal...

Good progress was made yesterday to reinforce and secure the fireline.  The fire is now 35% contained and 1,249 acres.  The fire continues to threaten the Round Pass Communications Site, the Morgan Butte Fire Lookout, and one residence.   Resources from multiple agencies are working on the fire, including Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  Yesterday’s Activity – Helicopter bucket drops were used to check hotspots and support ground crews, especially on the northern perimeter of the fire. Dozers were able to better secure the southeastern perimeter.  Today’s Operations – With heavy fuels still burning inside the fireline, controlling the perimeter and mopping up will be the primary focus for today’s efforts. Ground resources will continue suppressing spot fires with ongoing aircraft support. Weather and Fire Behavior:  A drying trend expected through the weekend will bring low relative humidity. Moderate...

The Bertschi Road Fire, located south of the town of Glenwood, WA., started on July 16 and its cause remains under investigation.  As crews continue to make progress on the fire, the number of personnel needed for the incident is evaluated. The fire organization managing the fire is rightsizing and excess resources are being made available for other fires. Approximately 304 personnel are currently assigned to the fire, which is 85% contained. Resources remaining include hand crews, engines, dozers, and water tenders. Air resources were released yesterday at the end of shift. Other resources will be demobilized as containment nears 100%. The Bertschi Road Fire night division searched for hot spots, and continued with mop up and patrolling the fire perimeter. Containment lines have been completed but mop-up to remove areas of remaining heat continues today; in some cases that work has been completed up to 300’ inside the fire line. Crews will begin back hauling unneeded equipment,...

The Ben Young Fire is currently 1,200 acres and located 13 miles south of Paisley, OR.  The fire is burning on steep slopes with grass and brush on lower slopes and timbered ridges.  NW 7 Incident Command Team 7 (Incident Commander Eric Knerr) took over management of the Ben Young Fire today at 6 a.m.  The fire is threatening the communication site on Round Mountain, the Morgan Butte Fire Lookout, and one residence.  More residences could become threatened as the fire moves to the east.  Resources from multiple agencies are working on the fire, including Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  Yesterday’s Activity – Firefighters made good progress yesterday as thunderstorm activity was minimal, with a short period of precipitation and heavy downdrafts.  Steep slopes made fire access and egress initially difficult, but a combination of dozer and air support made good progress.   Today’s Operations - Continuation of...

FIRE AREA EMERGENCY CLOSUREFREMONT-WINEMA NATIONAL FORESTPAISLEY RANGER DISTRICTOrder Number 06-02-03-20-01 Pursuant to Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations §261.50 (a) and (b), the following act is prohibited on NationalForest System lands and roads within the following described area on the Paisley Ranger District, FremontWinema National Forest, as described in attached Exhibit A. This prohibition will become effective immediately on July 22, 2020 upon signature of this Order and will remainin effect until December 1, 2020, unless rescinded earlier. PROHIBITION:(1) Going onto or being within an area closed for public health and safety. 36 CFR § 261.53 (e)(2) Being upon a closed road. 36 CFR § 261.54 (e) The area described below will be closed to public access/entry due to hazards and hazardous conditionscreated as a result of the Ben Young Fire. AFFECTED AREA / CLOSURE AREA: All legal descriptions are located within the Willamette Meridianand described as follows: Point of...

An emergency fire closure is now in effect for the Ben Young Fire area on the Paisley Ranger District of the Fremont-Winema National Forest.The closure area is on the National Forest System land east of Forest Road 33 from Forest Road 3510 north towards Paisley.  Also closed are Forest Roads 3510-018 off Clover Flat Road, the 3510 Road between the Forest Boundary Forest Road 33, and Road 3509 between Forest Road 3510 and the 28 Road. Within the closure area are Marster Spring Campground, Chewaucan Crossing Campground, Jones Crossing Forest Camp, Moss Meadow Horse Camp, Moss Pass Trailhead and Campground, and the Fremont National Recreation Trail.  These recreation sites are all closed due to the emergency fire closure. The closure order is formally referenced as 06-02-03-20-01.  It went into effect this afternoon and is in effect until conditions allow or December 1, 2020, whichever occurs first.  There will be public notification when the closure order is lifted.Forest visitors...

The Bertschi Road Fire is burning south of Conboy Wildlife Refuge and north of Snowden Road, south of the town of Glenwood, WA. The fire started on July 16 and its cause remains under investigation.  As  crews begin to make better progress on the fire, the number of personnel needed for the incident is evaluated. The fire organization managing the fire is rightsizing and excess resources are being made available for other fires. Approximately 312 personnel are currently assigned to the fire, which is nearly 80% contained. Resources include hand crews, helicopters, engines, dozers, and water tenders. Hand held infra-red devices, used to detect heat, continue to be utilized within the perimeter of the fire footprint. Today, crews will focus on mopping up any areas of remaining heat near the edge of the fire. In some areas around the perimeter, up to 300 feet of mop up has been achieved.Yesterday, fire managers welcomed researchers from the University of Washington in Partnership with...

The Ben Young Fire is currently burning on the Paisley Ranger District of the Fremont-Winema National Forest approximately 10 miles south of Paisley. The fire was discovered yesterday at 12:56 p.m. on private lands and moved onto the National Forest late yesterday afternoon.  The cause is under investigation. This morning it is estimated that the fire is between 1,200 and 1,500 acres and there is no containment.  One private cabin in the area is threatened.  Fire behavior is moderate with some torching.   Currently there is a local Type 3 Incident Management Team assigned to the Ben Young Fire.  A Type 2 Incident Management Team is scheduled to begin transitioning onto the fire today at 5 p.m. Resources from multiple agencies are working on the fire, including Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  This includes multiple engines, a dozer, helicopters, air attack, a lead plane, three heavy air tankers and three single...

The Bertschi Road Fire is burning south of Conboy Wildlife Refuge and north of Snowden Road, south of the town of Glenwood, WA. The fire started on July 16 and remains under investigation. Approximately 338 personnel are assigned to the fire which is nearly 75% contained. Resources include hand crews, helicopters, engines, dozers, and water tenders.  A thermal flight was conducted overnight to delineate the fire perimeter and identify potential hot spots. With minimal activity seen on the fire yesterday, crews were able to remove remaining areas of heat near the perimeters while increasing levels of containment. Crews have placed hose lines around the perimeter of the fire and a handheld heat sensing tool is being used to search for heat sources within the containment lines where crews will focus on mopping up. Eight water tenders are located on site to support hose lines as crews are tasked to achieve 100% mop up along and within the fire perimeter. These operations ensure the...

The Bertschi Road Fire is burning south of Conboy Wildlife Refuge and north of Snowden Road, south of the town of Glenwood, WA. A control line, consisting of dozer line, hand line, and a system of forest roads, completely encircles the fire. Given the complexity of the terrain, prevalence of variable ridgetop winds, the abundance of woody fuels, and how early we are in the wildfire season, crews are working hard to suppress all hot spots within the fire perimeter. The fire started on July 16 and remains under investigation. Approximately 70% of the fire has been contained. 342 total personnel are currently resourced to the Bertschi Road Fire.  Today, crews will scout assigned divisions to validate and reinforce constructed control lines. Crews are continuing to use infrared data, collected during an overnight flight, to locate and extinguish hotspots  within the fire perimeter. This work – known as “mop up” – is hot, dirty and difficult, but is critical to ensuring that the...

July 19, 2020The Bertschi Road Fire is burning south of Conboy Wildlife Refuge and north of Snowden Road, south of the town of Glenwood, WA. Ground reconnaissance and more accurate mapping has placed the total acres burned at 250. While fire lines have been established around most of the perimeter of the fire, not all fire lines are secure enough to contain the fire should they be tested by strong winds and advancing flames. Given the complexity of the terrain and swirly ridgetop winds, lines around the fires perimeter will need to meet a higher standard before considered contained. The fire remains at 65% containment. Total personnel currently resourced to the fire is 295.Crews today will focus on completing direct line construction and improving established control lines, using dozers and hand crews. Also, crews will scout and develop drop points on the fire for hose and pump delivery. In some areas of the fire, mop up operations will begin. The fire has burned through heavy logging...

The Sheldon-Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Fremont-Winema National Forest, Crater Lake National Park, and Bureau of Land Management Lakeview District announced today that all new ignitions for prescribed fire have been postponed until further notice.   Potential smoke impacts to the public are considered in all prescribed fire and wildfire management. As always, we will work in coordination with local and state health organizations and make any necessary changes should the need arise. This decision to temporarily postpone prescribed fire activities will prevent any effects from smoke that might further worsen conditions for those who are at risk in our communities while reducing exposure for employees who might not otherwise need to travel and creating social distancing for resources working on the fire.

The Bly Ranger District, USFS, plans to conduct a prescribed fire operation starting Tuesday, March 17, 2020, through Friday, March 20, 2020, to burn hand piles resulting from a fuel reduction and hazardous tree removal project. The prescribed fire activities will focus on burning approximately 79 acres of hand piles in the Horseglade Meadow, Camp 6, area. Hand piles are a result of using chainsaws to thin the forest. Much of the smaller cut material is piled for burning. Piles must be burned before the project is complete. Public and firefighter safety is always the number one priority in burning operations. Wind helps disperse smoke created during pile burning operations and snow helps keep the piles contained. Seeing flames and smoke, even after dark, is part of normal operations. This is one way that we can help reduce the buildup of fuel on the landscape under the safest conditions. Conditions are evaluated each day to determine if ignition will take place. Precipitation, wind,...

The Bly Ranger District, USFS, plans to conduct a prescribed fire operation starting Friday, March 13, 2020, inside the West Spodue Project Area.  The prescribed fire activities will focus on burning approximately 120 acres in Elde Flat Meadow. Fire managers plan to take advantage of tree line snowpack to focus on burning grasses within the meadow. Smoke will be visible from the community of Beatty and roadways and recreation areas in the general vicinity of this project. No road or trail closures are planned as part of the prescribed fire. However, during operations, fire personnel and vehicles will be visible to the public. Motorists are reminded to slow down and drive with heightened awareness when passing through active project areas. The Fremont-Winema National Forest is part of a fire-dependent ecosystem. Fire on the landscape is critical to overall ecosystem functioning and the sustainability of local communities, watersheds, and wildlife habitat.

Prescribed fire season has arrived in South Central Oregon, and fire managers on the Fremont-Winema National Forest, Lakeview District Bureau of Land Management, and Sheldon-Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex will be applying prescribed fire to the landscape. Prescribed fire is used by fire managers to improve forest health and wildlife habitat, and to reduce hazardous fuels to minimize the threat of high-intensity, severe wildfires in our area. Applying prescribed fire is a part of our continued commitment to protecting communities and natural resources from wildfires. Warmer temperatures, reduced snowpack, adequate humidity, and favorable winds are improving the conditions needed for firefighters to start applying fire to planned units. Area residents and visitors may notice smoke or fire on public lands in various areas during the next few months. Each prescribed fire can appear different visually depending on the forest type, fuel load, prescribed fire objectives, and...

John Day, Prairie City and Hines, OR. – Prescribed fire operations will continue as weather permits across the forest.                   Blue Mountain Ranger District will be working in the Galena unit 40b and continue monitoring conditions for further ignitions.   Emigrant Creek Ranger District will begin ignitions on a 200 acre under burn in the Silvies Unit 7, tomorrow, November 13.  The unit is 3 miles south west of Silvies River crossing off of National Forest System road 31.  This will be a two day ignition process.      Prairie City Ranger District will begin ignition of hand pile units near Dans Creek area and in the Elk 16 project area, starting tomorrow, November 13 into Wednesday.  Fire staff will monitor conditions to possibly begin jackpot burning in the Elk 16 M units starting Thursday and Friday.   For the safety of firefighters and the public, roads and areas of prescribed fire activity will be signed, please avoid these areas so as not...

John Day, Prairie City and Hines, OR. – Prescribed fire operations will continue as weather permits across the forest.   Blue Mountain Ranger District will begin ignitions on the 63 acre Galena 40b project, November 8, 2019.  Galena 40b is in the Middle Fork of the John Day River area.     Emigrant Creek Ranger District will monitor conditions to begin ignitions on Silvies Unit 7, starting on Tuesday, November 12.  The 400 acre unit is near National Forest System road 31, two miles south-west of the Silvies crossing.    Prairie City Ranger District will monitor conditions for continued prescribed fire operations.   For the safety of firefighters and the public, roads and areas of prescribed fire activity will be signed, please avoid these areas so as not to interfere with ongoing operations.  For safety, roads, trails, and areas may close temporarily as firefighter operations are taking place. Smoky conditions may also reduce visibility to a level that would require...

John Day, Prairie City and Hines, OR. – Prescribed fire operations will continue as weather permits across the forest.   Blue Mountain Ranger District will be finishing ignitions today on handpile units in the Camp Creek drainage area.  Smoke may be visible from County Road (CR) 18 and National Forest System (NFS) road 36.  Ignitions were also completed on 327 acres in Soda Bear 8b unit in Bear Valley.  This week crews will begin ignitions in Dad’s Creek, Starr Ridge and Bear Valley.  Smoke may be visible from Highways 26 and 395 for several days.   Prairie City Ranger District completed ignitions on 1500 acres in the Summit 3 unit located in the south east corner of Logan Valley.  This week crews will be working on jackpot burning in Elk 16 M; south of NFS road 1410 and west of NFS road 14; as well as handpile ignitions on the north end of the district later on in the week.   Emigrant Creek Ranger District completed 944 acres in the Jane and Tarzan project areas. This...

John Day, Prairie City and Hines, OR. – Prescribed fire operations will continue as weather permits across the forest.   Blue Mountain Ranger District will begin ignitions today on handpile units in the Camp Creek drainage area.  Smoke may be visible from County Road (CR) 18 and National Forest System (NFS) road 36.  Wednesday, October 16 crews will begin ignitions on 327 acres in Soda Bear 8b unit in Bear Valley.  District fire staff will continue to monitor conditions to possibly begin ignitions in the Starr project area also in Bear Valley.  Crews will continue hand pile ignitions across the district through this week and into next week as conditions and weather permit.     Wednesday, October 16, Prairie City Ranger District, will begin ignitions on 1500 acres in the Summit 3 unit located in the south east corner of Logan Valley and possibly some smaller ignitions of roughly 100 acres may occur in the Dads 2b unit and 50 acres in the Elk 16 project area, south of NFS...