[Prineville, Ore.] Oregon Department of Forestry’s John Day Unit will terminate Regulated-Use Closure at 12:01 a.m., Friday, October 14, 2022. These wildfire prevention measures were terminated for The Dalles and Prineville units on October 7th. Fire Season remains in effect across the Central Oregon District.
“We caution the public to be mindful of activities which
could start a fire as we continue to see unseasonably warm, dry weather this
fall,” says Brian Reel, Stewardship Forester for The Dalles Unit. “While fire danger has lessened with cooler
nights and increased humidity, we can still have rapidly spreading fires during
the heat of the day.”
Wildland fuels, including live vegetation and down woody
material are extremely dry. Limited
precipitation, combined with long-term drought conditions continue to elevate
the risk of fire ignition and increase fire behavior in wildland fuels. Fire managers regularly evaluate conditions to
determine current fire danger and necessary restrictions to limit impacts from
wildfires.
During Fire Season backyard debris burning, including
burn barrels is allowed by permit only.
Many counties have burn bans in place prohibiting debris burning at this
time. Check restrictions in your local
area to help prevent wildfires.
Other activities prohibited during fire season include
smoking in forest operation areas, blasting without a permit, use of exploding
targets and tracer ammunition. In
addition to these restrictions forest operations are required to follow
prevention guidelines which are available at www.oregon.gov/odf. These
guidelines are intended to reduce the risk of fire ignition, quickly detect
fires, and allow for a swift suppression response.
Failure to follow Fire Season restrictions can result
in citations, fines, and liability for costs associated with putting fires
out. Wildfires impact public health,
water quality, soil productivity, landowners, and local communities and
businesses.
For additional information on ODF’s Central Oregon
District, including Regulated-Use Closure restrictions and contact information,
please visit www.ODFcentraloregon.com.