Bend, Ore – The 30-acre prescribed burn planned on the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District today six miles southwest of Bend near Aspen Day Use Area as part of a national training program has been cancelled due to unfavorable conditions. Participants will still be onsite participating in other training exercises.
The Agency Administrator Workshop, hosted by the National Interagency Prescribed Fire Training Center (NIPFTC), a multi-agency training center based out of Tallahassee, Florida, offers unique training programs which cover foundational topics for prescribed fire practitioners, fire and fuels managers, and line officers tasked with implementing fuels management programs.
Forest Service Road 700, which provides access into Aspen Day Use Area and Trailhead and the Two-Hour Horse Loop Trail will be remain open. Recreationists are asked to use caution and drive slow as there will be firefighting equipment and training participants in the area.
NIPFTC’s Agency Administrator Workshop provides participants an opportunity to network with successful fuels program managers and skilled fire practitioners, while learning about fuels management direction, policy, planning and implementation. NIPFTC’s training programs emphasize mentorship and hands-on experience, which requires building relationships with a variety of host units that manage successful fuels management programs. This program delivery at the Deschutes National Forest represents the first workshop held in a western venue subsequent to NIPFTC’s expansion beyond its original southeastern base.
Prescribed burning reintroduces and maintains fire within a fire-dependent ecosystem, helping to stabilize and improve the resiliency of forest conditions while increasing public and firefighter safety. Once firefighters ignite prescribed burns, they monitor and patrol the units until they declare the burn out.
Prescribed burns can protect homes from tragic wildfires. Fire management officials work with Oregon Department of Forestry smoke specialists to plan prescribed burns. Prescribed burns are conducted when weather is most likely to move smoke up and away from our communities. Sometimes, weather patterns change, and some smoke will be present during prescribed burns.
For more information on prescribed burning in Central Oregon, visit centraloregonfire.org/ and for information specific to the Deschutes National Forest visit www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes. Follow us on Twitter @CentralORFire. Text “COFIRE” to 888-777 to receive wildfire and prescribed fire text alerts.
For more information regarding the NIPFTC Agency Administrator Workshop visit Agency Administrator Workshop – NIPFTC.
-USFS-
