Fall Prescribed Burn Window Opens Across Pacific Northwest National Forests

With the peak of fire season receding in the rearview mirror, land managers across the Pacific Northwest are turning their attention to a critical but often underappreciated tool for reducing future wildfire risk: prescribed fire. As fall weather windows open and conditions allow for controlled burning, multiple national forests in Oregon, Washington, and the broader region are planning or actively conducting prescribed burns aimed at reducing the fuel loads that drove this summer's catastrophic fires.

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in central Washington is continuing fall prescribed burning operations across the forest as weather windows allow. The forest, which was heavily impacted by the Little Giant Fire (172,912 acres) and the Kaiser Canyon Fire (138,293 acres) this season, is using prescribed fire as part of a broader strategy to restore fire to its natural role in the ecosystem and reduce the accumulation of dense fuels that made this summer's fires so severe.

However, not all planned burns are proceeding on schedule. Washington state crews have suspended ignitions on the Meloy prescribed burn northwest of Yakima due to conditions that did not meet prescription parameters. Prescribed burns are conducted under strict environmental windows — defined by temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction — that ensure fire stays within the planned burn area and smoke dispersal meets air quality standards.

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon

In southern Oregon, the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest has announced plans for fall prescribed understory and pile burning across multiple locations within the forest. Understory burns reduce accumulations of brush, shrubs, and grassy fuels beneath the forest canopy, while pile burning targets slash and debris piles created by prior timber management or hazard tree removal operations.

Forest officials note that specific dates, acreage, and locations for the burns are subject to change depending on weather and air quality conditions. Additional burn locations may be added as the fall progresses. Smoke from prescribed burns may be visible from nearby communities on burn days.

Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming

Just east of the Pacific Northwest, the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming is planning prescribed burns through December 2026. The West Zone of the forest — covering the Greys River and Kemmerer Ranger Districts — began prescription burn operations in early October, with forest officials estimating the work could continue through the end of the year depending on weather and fuel conditions.

The Bridger-Teton burns are part of a regional effort to get more acres treated with fire before the next fire season arrives. Agency officials have repeatedly emphasized that prescribed fire is one of the most cost-effective long-term strategies for reducing wildfire risk compared to mechanical fuel treatments alone.

The Case for Prescribed Fire

The 2026 fire season has given renewed urgency to the prescribed fire agenda. Research consistently shows that areas treated with prescribed fire before a wildfire burns at lower severity, are easier to contain, and recover more quickly than untreated areas. Despite decades of scientific consensus on this point, prescribed burning has historically been limited by a combination of staffing constraints, air quality regulatory requirements, short weather windows, and — until recently — liability concerns for prescribed burn practitioners.

Several western states have passed laws in recent years providing liability protections to certified prescribed burn practitioners, aimed at removing one barrier to expanded burning programs. Advocates say the Pacific Northwest region still needs to dramatically increase the acres treated each year to make meaningful progress against the fuel accumulation built up over decades of fire exclusion policies.

Smoke Advisories Expected