Bend/Sisters, Ore. – Fuels specialists will burn 108 acres today (Monday) along Cascade Lakes Highway, approximately half a mile northeast of the Cascade Lakes Welcome Station and directly across from the Widgi Creek Golf Course. This burn is being conducted as part of the West Bend Project. While no road or trail closures are expected, flaggers maybe used to guide traffic on Cascade Lakes Highway.
Fuels specialists will also ignite a 75 acre prescribed burn off of Forest Road 41, roughly a quarter mile east of Besson Day Use Area and one mile east of Sunriver. While no road or trail closures are expected for this burn, traffic delays may be possible on Forest Road 41.
Additionally, if conditions prove favorable, Sisters fuels specialists will ignite 140 acres of prescribed fire in the Metolius basin area, on the west side of Forest Road 1420, west of House on the Metolius and two miles north of the Camp Sherman and Metolius Meadows communities. No road or trail closures are expected for this burn.
Ignitions are planned for 10:30am and will continue for approximately four hours. Communities located near the listed burn areas can expect to see residual smoke impacts following the ignitions of these units. Fire crews will continue to patrol and monitor all burns for several days after ignitions.
The use of prescribed fire in Central Oregon’s fire adapted ecosystems restores forests to healthier conditions, reduces and removes dense vegetation that contributes to high intensity wildfires and protects communities.
For more information, visit the interactive Deschutes National Forest website at https://www.fs.fed.us/r6/webmaps/deschutes/cofms-rxfire/
