The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service are conducting dual operations across the Pacific Northwest this November: launching fall prescribed burning programs to reduce hazardous fuels, while simultaneously beginning the extensive post-season after-action reviews and resource planning processes that will shape how agencies approach the 2027 wildfire season.

Fall Prescribed Burn Program

BLM Oregon/Washington's fall prescribed burn program — formally launched in early October alongside the U.S. Wildland Fire Service — is now active at multiple locations across the two states:

  • Lake District (Oregon): Hand-pile burning operations approximately five miles north of Summer Lake, adjacent to Highway 31, targeting sage-steppe fuels in the northern Great Basin region.
  • Eugene District, Northwest Oregon: Broadcast and pile burn operations planned west of Eugene for the October 2026 through April 2027 window.
  • Deschutes National Forest (Oregon): Active pile burns on the Crescent Ranger District this week, burning 374 acres of timber sale slash southwest of Crescent.
  • Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (Washington): The Naches Ranger District completed 80 acres of pile burning this week and is continuing to look for burning windows through the weekend.

The fall burn season runs roughly October through March, with ignitions dependent on weather, fuel moisture, and air quality conditions at each location. After the 2026 season demonstrated the consequences of unmanaged fuel accumulation, agency officials say the urgency of this work has never been clearer.

Post-Season Resource Assessment

At the peak of the 2026 fire season, the NICC operated at National Preparedness Level 5 — the highest tier — with tens of thousands of personnel deployed across the country and military aircraft integrated into fire response for the first time at national scale. The season also saw unprecedented simultaneous demand across the Pacific Northwest, with Oregon, Washington, and Idaho collectively hosting dozens of large fires competing for the same aircraft, crews, and logistical support simultaneously.

As of November, the National Preparedness Level has fallen to 1. Hotshot crews that spent the summer battling fires across the Pacific Northwest are transitioning to off-season training, prescribed fire work, and vegetation management projects. Type 1 and Type 2 Incident Management Teams are conducting after-action reviews and demobilizing from the season's major incidents.

Key Resource Gaps Identified

Post-season reviews are expected to highlight several systemic resource gaps exposed by the 2026 season:

  • Aviation capacity: Demand for large air tankers and single-engine air tankers exceeded available assets for extended periods in August, forcing prioritization decisions that left some fires without air support during critical periods.
  • Hand crew shortages: Wildland firefighter recruitment and retention challenges, driven in part by housing costs at base locations and competitive private-sector wages, left some districts below target staffing levels entering the peak season.
  • Interagency coordination: The simultaneous scale of fires across state and federal jurisdictions tested existing coordination structures, particularly in border areas between Oregon and Washington.

Looking to 2027

The U.S. Wildland Fire Service, which consolidated several Interior Department fire programs under a single agency structure in 2025, is working with Congress on workforce retention and recruitment measures. Improving pay, housing support, and benefits for wildland firefighters remains a central policy priority heading into 2027 planning cycles.

Community members interested in tracking active prescribed burn operations in their areas can monitor their local National Forest website, the Central Oregon Fire Information site (centraloregonfire.org), and the BLM Oregon/Washington fire information pages for current burn status and air quality notices.