Contributed by our partners at Project Wildfire Thanks to an unfortunately warm and dry spring, Central Oregon’s summer temperatures are predicted to be hotter and drier than previous conditions. While wildfire season may be off to a slow start, that doesn’t mean we’re in the clear, yet. The bulk of fire activity generally occurs during […]
Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement. The United States Department of Agriculture is proposing to amend all land management plans for units of the National Forest System […] Read more Excerpts from an article from UC Berkeley by Kara Manke “The research is pretty darn clear that these treatments are effective — […]
“After 15 years of massive and severe blazes that have blackened landscape and choked the community with smoke for weeks at a time, severely disrupting people’s lives and the local […] Read more Pete Caligiuri, Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project steering committee member and Forest Ecologist with the Nature Conservancy, joined our local morning show Business Break […]
Contributed by Pete Caligiuri – Forest Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy, Bob Madden – Deputy Chief of Fire Operations, Bend Fire, and Deana Wall – Fuels Program Manager, Deschutes National Forest When the right balance of temperatures and moisture (not too hot, not too cold…not too wet, not too dry) that mark our Central Oregon spring […]
Last year was a record fire year with 9.1 million acres burning in the US. More than 680,000 acres burned in Oregon alone, in at least 33 different fires, one of which was a Megafire that burned over 190,000 acres. Our communities, homes, businesses and our very way of life are threatened. If we are going […]
Contributed by Marilyn Miller of Miller Conservation Consulting Our eyes were glued to the ground sorting through animal tracks. The date was June 17, 2011. Elk tracks, large and small ran in every direction. Then we froze in astonishment—we were looking at a paw print larger than a man’s hand, but lacking claw marks. Cougar! We […]
“After 15 years of massive and severe blazes that have blackened landscape and choked the community with smoke for weeks at a time, severely disrupting people’s lives and the local […] Read more Pete Caligiuri, Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project steering committee member and Forest Ecologist with the Nature Conservancy, joined our local morning show Business Break […]
*Posted August 27, 2018. You may have noticed some activity in the forests west of Bend. Restoration work (thinning, mowing, and prescribed burning) near the Phil’s Trail area aims to put the forest on a trajectory to grow healthier trees, improve wildlife habitat, and reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire. In order to keep bikers, […]
The Oregonian More frequent fires. Smaller, cooler blazes. Nighttime and early morning burns. Those are three important principles of what’s known as cultural burning, a firefighting practice honed by Indigenous […] Read more
Beginning on Saturday, burning will take place in the Metolius Basin outside Sisters, and south of Bend, one mile west of Horse Butte. On Sunday, fuels specialists will be igniting a 130 acre burn west of Bend near the new Cascade Lakes Welcome Station on Cascade Lakes Highway and a small burn outside of Sisters. […]
We’ve partnered with BendFilm Festival for a unique (social-distance-friendly) viewing opportunity of Ron Howard’s latest documentary, Rebuilding Paradise. The film follows residents of Paradise, CA, as they recover from 2018’s devastating Camp Fire. Wildfire was here before us, and for Central Oregonians, an out-of-control wildfire threatens the values we care about and the forest itself. […]
Differences between wildfire and prescribed fire smoke in Western States in the U.S. What Is Smoke? Smoke is a byproduct of living and dead vegetation and organic soil, collectively referred […] Read more by Carolyn Bucknall, National Forest Foundation It may seem counterintuitive that burning forests is good for their health. In fact, until the […]
Excerpts from an article from UC Berkeley by Kara Manke “The research is pretty darn clear that these treatments are effective — very effective,” said study lead author Scott Stephens, a professor of fire science at the University of California, Berkeley. “I hope this lets people know that there is great hope in doing these […]
Megafires, wildfires over 100,000 acres, and their impacts on people and ecosystems is a serious and growing issue to our region. Our communities, homes, businesses and our very way of life are threatened. If we are going to make progress towards increasing fire resiliency, we must increase awareness and stimulate conversation about this important issue across all […]
