West Ashland: Controlled Burn Continues Above Ashland Mine Road
The Ashland Forest Resiliency is finishing a controlled burn today that Lomakatsi Restoration Project and Grayback Forestry, Inc. have been managing this week. Trained prescribed fire crews have executed the controlled burn with great consideration of smoke dispersal and extensive planning for safety. The controlled burn is located above Ashland Mine Road, west of Ashland and will not directly impact roads or trails. Today, fire crews will complete more acres for the prescribed fire project and continue ongoing mop up. Smoke models for today show smoke dispersing to the southeast across the watershed. Crews are closely watching conditions to ensure firefighter and community safety because this is our top priority. Learn more about the benefits of prescribed fire and proactive fire planning here.
Smoke Could Impact the Community:
Smoke can drift into the watershed and cause issues for trail users, and you will see smoke during the day throughout the Rogue Valley.
In the evening hours, smoke could impact neighborhoods from Strawberry Lane to neighborhoods along Hwy 99. As cooler air drops into the valley, the smoke can be pulled to lower elevations, so please take precautions.
Recommended Actions: Stay inside, close windows, turn on HEPA or other air filters, and wear a N95 respirator when smoke is present. See www.smokewiseashland.org for additional health recommendations.
Drone Monitoring:Crews who manage smoke and fire conditions are monitoring from the ground level to above the controlled burn using a drone. In the photo below, you can see recent drone monitoring that happened as the prescribed fire progressed on May 17th.
More Information
For burn day text notifications, text the word "WATERSHED" in the message line to 888777 as the recipient. You will get an auto-confirmation text when you sign-up. You can also download the Everbridge/Nixle app to get alerts.
Our primary objective when using prescribed fire is the safety and well-being of the community and fire crews. Please see this video to learn more about AFR.
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