Deschutes National Forest Plans Spring Prescribed Burning

Operations could begin as early as next week if conditions are favorable

Central Oregon, March 11, 2026 —Deschutes National Forest firefighters plan to start spring understory prescribed burning season as early as next week if conditions become favorable. The Deschutes National Forest may accomplish up to an estimated 11,626 acres of prescribed burning, including up to an estimated 7,000 acres on the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District, 2,126 acres on the Crescent Ranger District, and 2,500 acres on the Sisters Ranger District.

Prescribed burns are slated for the following general areas: 

• Bend – one mile west of Bend adjacent to Cascades Lakes Highway, Forest Service Road 41, and Skyliner Road; south of Bend adjacent to Forest Service Road 18; southeast of Bend near Forest Service Road 18 and 25 junction; northern portions of Pine Mountain
• Camp Sherman – along Forest Service Road 14 near the base of Black Butte and north of Camp Sherman near Smiling River and Pine Rest Campgrounds
• Crescent – five miles southeast of Crescent and east of Highway 97 off Forest Service Road 9760 near Boundary Springs Campground; approximately one mile south of the Two Rivers subdivision; east of Highway 97 near the Highway 97 and 58 junction
• La Pine – three miles northeast of La Pine adjacent to McKay Crossing Campground; one mile east of La Pine near Finley Butte; 30 miles southeast of La Pine near Quartz Mountain; south of Highway 31 approximately 12 miles southeast of La Pine
• Sisters – within one to five miles south to northwest of Sisters
• Sunriver – two miles northeast of Sunriver on the east and west side of Highway 97 near Lava Butte; east side of Highway 97 near the South Century Drive interchange; one mile west of Sunriver along Forest Service Roads 40 and 42 in the vicinities of Anne’s Butte and Pistol Butte

Firefighters implement understory prescribed burning to reduce wildfire risk to communities. Prescribed burning reintroduces and maintains fire within our fire-dependent ecosystem by removing concentrations of vegetation and restoring forest health while increasing public and firefighter safety. Once firefighters ignite prescribed burns, they monitor and patrol the units until they declare the burn out.

Prescribed burns, which are primarily conducted in spring and fall, are carefully planned and implemented under specific conditions of temperature, wind, humidity, and vegetation moisture. Firefighters work with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Oregon Department of Forestry smoke forecasters to identify conditions that will minimize smoke impacts on people and communities. While prescribed fire managers take significant preventive measures, it’s likely that communities may experience some smoke during or immediately after a prescribed burn. Most smoke impacts occur during the night and early morning hours.

For more information on prescribed burning and smoke preparedness in Central Oregon, visit centraloregonfire.org and for information specific to the Deschutes National Forest visit fs.usda.gov/deschutes. Visit centraloregonfire.org/prescribed-fire-smoke-plans/ to view an interactive map with planned burn locations. Text “COFIRE” to 888-777 to receive prescribed burn text alerts. Follow along on X @CentralORFire.

La Pine Fire District Receives Updated Community ISO Insurance Rating

The District has received great news for our community. Our ISO insurance rating, which was already considered good, was recently lowered to an even better number. You can read more about it by clicking here.

Notice of La Pine Fire District Board of Directors Meeting

Emergency Information Dashboard available to the public

Please bookmark deschutes.org/emergency for future use, and encourage others to use it for accurate and timely information regarding incidents where evacuation notices are in place. We endeavor to update this dashboard as quickly as possible and as often as needed for events that necessitate evacuations or have major impacts. During an incident, it will include shelter location information (if shelters are being utilized), a situation update, and text from any Deschutes Alerts messages that have been sent to impacted community members.

THANK YOU TO THE LA PINE COMMUNITY FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!