Fire Managers on the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area are taking advantage of the cooler weather to start a prescribed burn project near the Marsh Cut off road in the Rowena area. This is an ongoing effort to reduce the potential of catastrophic wildfires and improve forest health.
Prescribe burns are a proactive tool used to achieve a number of objectives including the reduction of hazardous fuels (overgrown vegetation). Prescribed burns can help reduce the threat of wildfire, recycle nutrients that increase soil productivity, improve wildlife habitat and increase the resiliency of the treated stands to the effects of wildfire.
The actual day of ignition for this burn project will depend on several factors including appropriate humidity levels, wind speed and direction, temperature and fuel moisture. The burn will only occur on a day when the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Smoke Management Office indicates suitable weather conditions for smoke dispersal. “Fire managers will conduct burns only if all conditions allow for safe and successful burning operations,” said Roland Rose, Fuels Specialist
