Fire Season on lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) Southwest Oregon District begins Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 12:01 a.m. The fire danger level will be “Low” (green) and the Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL) will be I (one). Lands affected by this declaration include 1.8 million acres of state, private, county, city and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) forestlands in Jackson and Josephine counties.
Following a warm and dry start to the year, April and May brought more typical spring-like patterns and precipitation to southern Oregon and helped in decreasing the amount of fire starts. Year to date, our firefighters have responded to 25 fires for a total of 22 acres burned; these statistics tell a much different story than last year, when during the same timeframe, we had responded to 89 fire starts totaling 120 acres. While temperatures and conditions haven’t yet become consistently warm and sunny, fuels are primed to burn, and years of drought have contributed to an increased fire risk. For these reasons, fire season is being declared at this time.
Beginning Wednesday, the burning of debris piles and the use of burn barrels for burning debris will no longer be allowed in Jackson and Josephine counties. Even with recent rains, landowners are encouraged to check their previously burned piles from this spring and confirm that they have been extinguished.
For a complete list of restrictions in low fire danger, visit swofire.com/fire-restrictions-closures.
Courtesy of ODF
