With the 2026 wildfire season officially closed across Oregon and Washington, federal and state land managers are pivoting to their most important off-season tool: prescribed fire. Pile burning and broadcast burning operations are ramping up at multiple locations across the Pacific Northwest this week, targeting hazardous fuel loads that accumulated during the season and treating stands primed for future fire.

Active Prescribed Burns This Week

Several National Forest and Bureau of Land Management units across Oregon and Washington are conducting prescribed burn operations this week:

  • Deschutes National Forest, Crescent Ranger District (Oregon): On November 11, crews ignited pile burns on 374 acres located approximately 11 miles southwest of Crescent, near Highway 58. The piles contain leftover woody debris from prior timber sales and pre-commercial thinning operations. Smoke may be visible near the Two Rivers subdivision and Highway 58 corridor for several days.
  • Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, High Cascades Ranger District (Oregon): Approximately 45 acres of pile burning was planned north of the Prospect Ranger Station on November 10, targeting slash piles from recent forest management work.
  • Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Naches Ranger District (Washington): Crews completed 80 acres of pile burning earlier this week and are evaluating conditions for continued operations through the weekend.
  • Mt. Hood National Forest (Oregon): Pile burning season is underway following the close of the fire season, with specific units and acreage identified based on fuel moisture and air quality conditions.

Why Fall Prescribed Burning Matters

Fire managers across the Pacific Northwest view fall and winter as a critical window for prescribed fire work. Cooler temperatures, elevated humidity, and moist soils reduce the risk of prescribed burns escaping their intended boundaries — while still allowing fuels to ignite and consume hazardous accumulations of dead wood and brush.

The 2026 season's unprecedented scale has only increased urgency around prescribed fire. In areas burned this summer, land managers are also prioritizing burned area treatments — removing snags and other post-fire hazards that could carry fire into adjacent unburned timber in future years.

Smoke Advisories

Residents near active prescribed burn units should expect to see and smell smoke, particularly during evening and overnight hours when smoke tends to settle into valleys and low-lying areas. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Oregon Department of Forestry coordinate with burn managers to minimize smoke impacts on communities, issuing burn permits only when dispersion conditions are favorable.

The BLM and U.S. Wildland Fire Service formally launched their fall prescribed burning program across Oregon and Washington in early October, with operations expected to continue through the winter months wherever weather and air quality conditions permit.

Community members who spot smoke from prescribed burns are asked not to call 911 or report the fire as an emergency. Planned burn notifications are posted at each respective forest and district office website, and at the Central Oregon Fire Information website for the Deschutes and Fremont-Winema National Forests.

Thomas Mountain Prescribed Burn (California)

Prescribed burn activity is active well beyond the Northwest. In Southern California, firefighters continued work on the Thomas Mountain Prescribed Burn Project in Riverside County through November 11, with the project having burned approximately 2,000 acres since it was initiated on November 8. A crew of 150 personnel is assigned, burning grass, sage, and oak fuels across the project area.