180-Acre Prescribed Burn Planned Near Glide as Early as September 29

GLIDE, Ore. - Fire crews could begin a 180-acre prescribed burn in the North Bank Habitat Management Area as early as Tuesday, September 29, if conditions are favorable, according to a notice from the U.S. Wildland Fire Service and the Bureau of Land Management’s Roseburg District.

The planned burn is about six miles west of Glide, off North Bank Road. The start date is conditional: crews will proceed only if temperature, moisture, wind, and fuel conditions allow them to meet the burn’s objectives. Forecast weather and the availability of personnel and equipment, both at the site and elsewhere in the area, will also factor into the decision.

Visitors may encounter more fire personnel and equipment. The notice says access could be affected at Blacktail Basin Road, Comstock Day Use, the East Entrance parking lot, East Boundary Road, Thistle Ridge Trail, West Barn Trail, and Powerline Road. Anyone visiting the area should use caution and watch for activity near roads and trails.

The burn is intended to reduce wildfire risk to nearby communities, make the landscape more resilient to fire, improve the amount and quality of forage for wildlife, reduce invasive species, and restore oak woodlands.

The North Bank Habitat Management Area is managed in part for Columbian white-tailed deer. Its habitat played a role in the recovery of the Douglas County population, which was removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered wildlife in 2003. The distinction matters because the delisting applied to that population, rather than every Columbian white-tailed deer population. Bureau of Land Management

Smoke from the prescribed burn may be visible from Glide and surrounding areas. Fire officials say they will coordinate with the Oregon Department of Forestry’s smoke management program to conduct the burn under conditions intended to limit smoke in local communities. Burn areas will be patrolled and mopped up during and after ignitions.

Smoke may settle in low-lying areas overnight. Residents are encouraged to close their windows at night if smoke is present. Drivers who encounter smoky conditions should slow down and turn on their headlights. People concerned about smoke in their homes can consult the Environmental Protection Agency’s guidance for creating a cleaner-air room and speak with a physician about health concerns.

The work is being carried out with cooperation from the Douglas Forest Protective Association, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Umpqua National Forest, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, and Oregon Conservation Corps of the Umpqua Valley. DFPA distributed the notice as a courtesy; the USWFS and BLM are responsible for the project.

More information is available from the BLM’s fuels management program, the U.S. Wildland Fire Service’s prevention page, and the BLM’s Oregon and Washington prescribed-fire page. The BLM Roseburg District can be reached at 541-440-4930.