2026 Prescribed Burn Operations 

The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, along with interagency partners and neighbors, plans to implement prescribed fire projects, as weather and fuels conditions allow. 

Public and firefighter safety is the top priority in all prescribed fire operations. Fire managers develop burn plans accounting for safety, specific fuel and weather prescriptions, and smoke management. Prior to implementation, local fire managers coordinate with local cooperators, counties, and partners.  All prescribed burns are closely evaluated and are only approved when favorable conditions are present.

Benefits of prescribed fire as a forest management tool:

• Protects communities and infrastructure by reducing hazardous fuels and the risk of future high-intensity wildfires.
• Mitigates future wildfire risk and promote resilient fire-adapted landscapes.
• Reduces build-up of flammable vegetation, dead and down trees, and overgrowth.
• Improves and supports wildlife habitat for many species on the Forest.
• Limits the spread of invasive plant species and minimizes the spread of pest insects and disease, maintaining native ecosystems.
• Recycles nutrients back into the soil.
• Promotes the growth of trees, plants, wildflowers, and other flora and fauna.
• Continues the historic, natural fire regime of periodic disturbance by fire in forested ecosystems. 

Prescribed fires are planned for various units across the Forest; however, the window of opportunity for prescribed fire implementation is affected by several factors. Safety factors, weather conditions, air quality, personnel availability, and environmental regulations are continually monitored before implementation to determine feasibility of moving forward with the prescribed fire operations, during implementation, and after completion of the unit(s). 

All prescribed fires will be implemented in compliance with Oregon air quality standards and coordinated with appropriate county health departments to reduce the impacts of smoke to neighbors, cooperators, and surrounding communities. Smoke may settle in valley bottoms and drainages overnight, but it is expected to dissipate within a few days. Visit the Fire and Smoke Map by AirNow for the current smoke outlook. Daily planned ignitions can be found on line at the PNW Prescribed Fire Tracker. 

Types of Prescribed Fire

Pile Burning: ignition of hand or machine piles of cut vegetation that have been allowed to dry out. Pile burning is commonly used to mitigate wildfire risk in areas where broadcast burning may not be feasible, such as adjacent to communities or private lands. Piles are made from the residual woody debris often left after a mechanical thinning treatment and can range in size from small hand stacked piles to large piles created with mechanical equipment. Piles are typically burned in fall, winter, or early spring after the piles have dried out and conditions allow, reducing the damage to the remaining trees and confining the majority of fire to the footprint of the pile.

Under-burning: a type of prescribed fire treatment, that ignites vegetation under the forest canopy and focuses on the consumption of surface fuels.