La Grande, OR--As of 12:01 am, September
27, 2019, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) will terminate fire season
for forestlands protected by the Northeast Oregon District. This includes over 2 million acres of private,
state, county, municipal and tribal lands protected by Oregon Department of
Forestry. The Northeast Oregon District
includes lands in the following counties:
Union, Baker, Umatilla, Wallowa and small portions of Grant, Morrow and
Malheur counties.
The Northeast Oregon District has responded
to a total of 67 fires, to date, burning on ODF protected lands in 2019. There have been 50 lightning fires for a
total of 49 acres. Another 17 fires were
human caused and burned a total of 350 acres.
“While we have received a fair amount of
precipitation around the region, there’s still a chance of fires burning well
on dry and windy days. There are lots of
opportunities for folks to get out and enjoy our beautiful fall, but we are
still asking them to be careful. The
fact that we are no longer in fire season doesn’t mean there isn’t some risk of
a fire escaping.” Said Matt Hoehna, Pendleton
Unit Forester.
With the termination of fire season,
requirements for obtaining a burn permit for residential yard debris burning
and burn barrels are no longer in effect. Terminating fire season does not
relieve landowners or forest operators of lawful responsibilities concerning
the safe burning of debris or slash piles.
“Landowners with large debris piles or
slash to burn should exercise extreme caution.
Is still very early in the fall and there could be drier weather ahead
of us. Waiting for more precipitation is
a good way to mitigate the risk of an escaped burn.” Hoehna stated. “Landowners need to make sure they have their
smoke management notifications filed and follow all forecasts for burning. Check with your local ODF office before
lighting fires.”
Specific
Smoke Management/Burning Advisory Information:
·
If you are under the protection of a rural or
city fire department, please call and ask what their burning restrictions
are. Burn permits for burn barrels or
small amounts of yard debris are not required on lands protected by the Oregon
Department of Forestry. In addition,
burning within the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
(CTUIR) requires a permit from CTUIR. You
must follow all requirements as outlined in the permit.
·
Burning slash from forestry and logging
activities requires a Notification of Operation/PDM from ODF. In addition to this permit, the local ODF
office must be contacted prior to ignition.
Before burning in northeast Oregon, it is important to check weather
conditions relative to smoke management.
For smoke management forecasts call (541)963-9781 or visit the following
website:
·
Slash burns must be registered with
the local ODF office at least 7 days prior to burning and burning accomplishments
must be reported within 7 days following the burn.
The Northeast Oregon
District of the Oregon Department of Forestry would like to thank all of our landowners,
forest operators, the public and interagency partners for their efforts in fire
prevention, detection and suppression activities this season.
For further information, call your local
ODF office:
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 the Blue Mountain
Interagency Dispatch Center at (541)963-7171, or dial 9-1-1.
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