Project Targets Hazardous Fuels to Reduce Wildfire Risk and Strengthen Forest Health and Resiliency
Prineville, Ore., October 28, 2024— Today, firefighters from the Ochoco National Forest launched the 2024/2025 Pile Burning Project, initiating treatments across approximately 3,200 acres of hazardous fuels to bolster forest and grassland health and resilience. Expected to continue through mid-to-late December, this project involves burning woody debris piles created from previous vegetation management, including both commercial and non-commercial thinning efforts.
Pile burning is an essential forest management tool, where debris from thinning, brush clearing, and other fuels treatments is collected into piles and burned under carefully controlled conditions. Conducting these burns during the cooler months allows firefighters to safely reduce large concentrations of woody material, preventing it from serving as fuel in future wildfires. By proactively managing these fuels, crews help to create more resilient landscapes better equipped to withstand fire.
These treatments play a crucial role in reducing wildfire severity. In the recent Crazy Creek Fire, areas that had undergone similar management showed significantly lower fire intensity, underscoring how proactive efforts like this can help safeguard forests and surrounding communities.
Crews aim to treat approximately 200 acres of piles each day, taking advantage of the winter season as an optimal window for safely reducing woody debris and lowering wildfire risks. Short-term smoke impacts may occur, particularly in forest valleys and areas south of Big Summit Prairie, where many piles are concentrated. Some smoke may also temporarily affect visibility on nearby roadways and campsites.
Firefighters from the Ochoco National Forest and the Prineville Interagency Hotshot Crew will monitor these burns closely, ensuring they are conducted under prescribed conditions that prioritize public safety and environmental health.
For updates on burning activity, smoke impacts, and prescribed burn areas, please visit the Ochoco National Forest website and follow us on social media.
Fuels treatments make a difference. On the left, untreated forest fuels resulted in high burn severity and significant tree mortality. On the right, a treated area shows reduced fire intensity and healthier, resilient trees. Proactive management like this is crucial to protecting our forests and communities.
