SMOKE MANAGEMENT
FORECAST AND INSTRUCTIONS
SALEM FORESTRY
WEATHER CENTER
OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF FORESTRY
ISSUED: Monday,
February 2, 2026
2:30 PM Pete Parsons
**************** Air Stagnation Advisory Information
****************
An Air Stagnation Advisory may be in effect for your
area (consult the link below for the latest information). Please take extra
precautions and limit forestland burning to units that will not worsen air
quality within nearby SSRAs.
* Current Air Stagnation Advisories: https://www.weather.gov/wrh/.
*
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* Special Protection Zone (SPZ) provisions apply from
November 15 through February 15.
Prescribed burning is not allowed in an SPZ from December 1 through
February 15 on days when the daily woodstove “Ordinance” is either “Red,”
“Exempt Wood Burning Device,” or “No Burning Period.” Burning is allowed inside of SPZs all other
days, but please use extra precautions and limit forestland burning to units
that will not worsen air quality within nearby SSRAs. *
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1. DISCUSSION AND
FORECAST FOR THE WESTERN OREGON AREA FORECAST ZONES 601-623 and 639
SHORT-TERM DISCUSSION
A strengthening upper-level ridge will force lingering clouds,
located over the extreme northern zones this afternoon, north of the state tonight. Warming aloft and nighttime cooling will lead
to areas of locally dense valley fog forming.
As the upper-level ridge strengthens on Tuesday, areas of dense
morning valley fog will slowly give way to sunshine, but very warm air aloft
will make for poor daytime mixing despite mild surface temperatures. The combination of light, mostly SE-S,
surface winds and poor mixing will promote generally stagnant conditions. Care
should be taken to not worsen air quality in nearby SSRAs.
EXTENDED DISCUSSION
The ridge strengthens on Wednesday with areas of morning fog
giving way to sunshine. After a cool
start, daytime temperatures will be quite mild, but mixing will remain poor
with light offshore winds.
The ridge axis shifts eastward, to over Idaho, on Thursday
with an unseasonably mild SE-S flow aloft keeping freezing levels high. Skies should remain sunny with mild daytime temperatures
but poor mixing. Light winds may turn
onshore.
The dry, mild, and stagnant pattern should hold at least through
Friday, and perhaps through Saturday, with the biggest change being a shift to
weak onshore flow.
2. DISPERSION
TUESDAY
Zone 601, 602,
603 and 612 (North Coast Range):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 1000 ft.
Transport wind E
to SE at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable but favors E and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
remains below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
ESE to SSE at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
remains below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
shifts to ENE to ESE at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
Zone 605-611 and
639 (North Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 1000 ft.
Transport wind SE
to S at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable but favors SE and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
remains below 1000 ft.
Transport wind similar to morning.
Surface wind similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
remains below 1000 ft.
Transport wind E
to SE at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
Zone 615-623
(South Coast Range and Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
ESE to S at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable but favors SE and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
1000 - 1700 ft.
Transport wind similar to morning.
Surface wind similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
lowers below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
shifts to E to SE at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
OUTLOOK:
WEDNESDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft throughout the day.
Transport wind E to SSE at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind light and variable.
THURSDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft throughout the day.
Transport wind E to SE at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind light and variable.
FRIDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft during the morning rising to 1000 to 1600 ft during the
afternoon. Transport wind light and
variable. Surface wind light and
variable.
3. BURNING
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL ZONES IN THE WESTERN OREGON AREA
- Valid for burning done Tuesday, February
3, 2026.
=================================================================
Coast Range
***Avoid
ignitions before 10 a.m. in all zones.
Complete ignitions by 3:30 p.m. in all zones.***
Zone 601, 602,
603, 612, 615, 616 west of R8W, 618, 619, and 620
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Avoid burning directly upwind of coastal SSRAs. Higher tonnage is possible south of T29S in
Zone 616 - call the forecaster.
Zone 616 east of
R9W
Units should be
900 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs. Higher tonnage is possible south of T29S -
call the forecaster.
Cascades
***Avoid
ignitions before 10 a.m. in all zones.
Complete ignitions by 3:30 p.m. in all zones.***
Zone 605 and 606
Units should be
300 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 607, 608,
611, and 617
Units should be
900 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 639, 610,
and 623
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Ensure adequate distance from downwind SSRAs for smoke to dissipate.
Zone 616
Units should be
600 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs. Avoid ignitions north of T24S. South of T29S higher tonnage is possible -
call the forecaster.
Zone 620 and 622
Units should be
1200 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Siskiyous
***Avoid
ignitions before 10 a.m. Complete ignitions by 3:30 p.m.***
Units should be
900 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
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4. SPECIAL NOTES:
The ODF forecast
smoke zones differ from the NWS fire zones and
are available at:
https://www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/documents/smoke-forecast-zone-map.pdf
Call the smoke management duty forecaster
at (503) 945-7401 to
discuss burning. Please do not call individual's numbers to
discuss daily burning. If the forecaster is
not available,
leave a message and they will return your
call as soon as possible.
Avoid calling between 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
The forecast is available on the Internet
at:
http://www.odf.state.or.us/DIVISIONS/protection/fire_protection/
Daily/smi.htm
Please ensure your units have been planned
and accomplished by
checking:
http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Fire/Pages/Burn.aspx
A map of planned and/or accomplished burns
is located at:
http://geo.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html
?id=a7e321dc8fc444b7a33fbc67bc673a3b
The forecast/instruction telephone
recording is: (503) 945-7400.
To subscribe to or unsubscribe from the
email list for this
product, please go to the link:
http://weather.smkmgt.com/mailman/listinfo/
5. STANDARD GUIDANCE
MATRIX:
* Greater than 5000 ft mixing height: Limit
to 150 tons per mile
from downwind SSRAs. Example: 75 tons
allowed if burned a half
mile from a downwind SSRA.
* 3000 - 5000 ft mixing height: Limit to 50
tons per mile if burning
within 5 miles of downwind SSRAs. Limit to
100 tons per mile if
burning 5 miles or beyond downwind SSRAs.
Example #1: 200 tons allowed if burned 4
miles from a downwind SSRA.
Example #2: 500 tons allowed if burned 5
miles from a downwind SSRA.
* Less than 3000 ft mixing height: No burning
within 5 miles of
downwind SSRAs. Limit to 60 tons per mile
from downwind SSRAs.
Example: 300 tons allowed if burned 5 miles
from a downwind SSRA.
* Ensure adequate spacing between units when
burning near downwind
SSRAs.
* Use of polyethylene (PE) sheeting on
greater than 75 percent of
piles in a unit with 60 percent coverage
per pile will allow a
50 percent increase in tonnage over the
existing instruction tonnage
for that zone.
* All exceptions must be coordinated with the
duty forecaster
prior to ignition.
6. BURN MONITORING:
Burns over 2000 tons must be monitored (OAR
629-048-0230(3) -
7/1/14). Monitoring of all burns is highly
recommended for both
smoke management purposes and wildfire
potential.