If the right weather and wind conditions continue, a prescribed burn in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest south of Mount Adams is scheduled to begin on Oct. 7, and may last through Oct. 21, according to a news release on Tuesday.
The burn will be conducted with the goal of reducing wildfire hazards and improving forest health, according to Gifford Pinchot fire managers.
The prescribed burn site is about 6 miles north of Trout Lake and 4 miles south of the Mount Adams Wilderness area, planned as part of the Upper White Salmon River Restoration Project.
“Shorter days, elevated relative humidity, and recent rainfall in the prescribed burn area have helped create suitable prescribed burning conditions,” said Loretta Duke, fire management officer for the South Zone Gifford Pinchot National Forest, in the release. “These favorable conditions are rare and the window for controlled application of fire is often narrow in this geographical area.”
The project, the release stated, is intended to reduce vegetation and woody debris from the forest understory by burning 1,712 acres. The end goal is to create a landscape more resistant and resilient to wildfire, insects and disease. Starting in October, staff will focus on the completion of a 288-acre portion of the project area.
The other three units will be burned over the next several years. Significantly reducing ground fuels can help retain live medium and large trees in the overstory, particularly large, legacy ponderosa pine, the release stated.
Prescribed fire signs will be posted at both ends of the project area to increase public awareness. Temporarily traffic holds may be possible at Forest Roads 8020, 8225 and 8020-021 due to limited visibility caused by smoke and to keep the public at a safe distance from the burn areas.
There will be visible smoke in the area for several days following the burn, likely in Glenwood and/or Trout Lake, the news release stated, but it is not expected to travel any farther south. Signs will remain in place on roadways until the smoke has dissipated and is no longer affecting visibility. Units will continue to be staffed and patrolled until significant moisture limits threat from escape.
For more information and updates, visit www.fs.usda.gov/giffordpinchot.
