SMOKE MANAGEMENT
FORECAST AND INSTRUCTIONS
SALEM FORESTRY
WEATHER CENTER
OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF FORESTRY
ISSUED:
Wednesday, May 6, 2026 2:30 PM Gary Votaw
1. DISCUSSION AND FORECAST FOR THE WESTERN
OREGON AREA FORECAST ZONES 601-623 and 639
SHORT-TERM
DISCUSSION
On
Thursday an upper ridge remains overhead.
Clouds in the morning will break to become sunny and very warm in the
afternoon, mostly 10oF above seasonal. Mixing becomes moderate or good in the
afternoon as winds are light from WSW-NW.
EXTENDED DISCUSSION
A
quickly weakening trough arrives on Friday and slightly cools the region. Skies will be partly sunny north and sunny
south. Burning opportunities become good
in afternoon with light SW-NW winds.
The
ridge again rebounds for Saturday and Sunday with weak SW flow aloft. Sunny and very warm conditions are expected
both days, mainly around 10oF above normal. Mixing potential is good in the afternoons
with NW winds.
2. DISPERSION
THURSDAY
Zone 601, 602,
603 and 612 (North Coast Range):
MORNING
Mixing height below
1000 ft early rising to 2100 - 3100 ft.
Transport wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
3100 - 4100 ft.
Transport wind
similar to morning.
Surface wind
similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
lowers below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
similar to afternoon.
Surface wind
similar to afternoon.
Zone 605-611 and
639 (North Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height below
1000 ft early rising to 2400 - 3400 ft.
Transport wind SW
to WNW at 6 - 10 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
rising to 3500 - 4500 ft.
Transport wind
WSW to WNW at 9 - 15 mph.
Surface wind
increases to SW to WNW at 4 - 8 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
lowers below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
becomes light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
Surface wind
becomes light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
Zone 615-620
(South Coast Range):
MORNING
Mixing height below
1000 ft early rising to 1500 - 2500 ft.
Transport wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
rising to 3000 - 4000 ft.
Transport wind
increases to WSW to NW at 5 - 9 mph.
Surface wind
increases to W to NW at 4 - 8 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
lowers below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
similar to afternoon.
Surface wind
similar to afternoon.
Zone 616-623
(South Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height below
1000 ft early rising to 2800 - 3800 ft.
Transport wind SW
to WNW at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
rising to 4300 - 5000 ft.
Transport wind
increases to WSW to WNW at 9 - 15 mph.
Surface wind
increases to WSW to WNW at 5 - 9 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
2000 - 3000 ft.
Transport wind W
to NW at 6 - 12 mph.
Surface wind W to
NW at 5 - 9 mph.
OUTLOOK:
FRIDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 2700 to 3700 ft by late morning rising to 3800 to
4800 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind SW to W at 6 - 12 mph. Surface wind
light and variable during the morning becoming WSW to NW at 4 - 8 mph during
the afternoon.
SATURDAY
In the north
mixing height below 1000 ft early rising to 2400 to 3400 ft by late morning
rising to 3800 to 4800 ft during the afternoon.
In the south mixing height below 1000 ft early rising to 1400 to 2400 ft
by late morning rising to 3500 to 4500 ft during the afternoon. Transport wind light and variable during the
morning becoming NW to N at 5 - 9 mph during the afternoon. Surface wind light and variable.
SUNDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 1800 to 2800 ft by late morning rising to 3300 to
4300 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind WNW to NNW at 4 - 8 mph during the morning becoming WNW to NNW at 8 - 14
mph during the afternoon. Surface wind
light and variable during the morning becoming W to NW at 6 - 10 mph during the
afternoon.
3. BURNING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL ZONES IN THE
WESTERN OREGON AREA
- Valid for burning done Thursday, May 7,
2026.
=================================================================
Coast Range
Zone 601 and 612
Units should be
1000 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 miles from downwind SSRAs. Restrict units in or near corridors to 500
tons or less.
Zone 602, 603,
and 620
Units should be
300 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 miles from downwind SSRAs. Limit burning in or near corridors.
Zone 615 and 616
west of R8W
Units should be
1200 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 616 east of
R9W
Units should be
750 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 618 and 619
Use standard
guidance matrix. (See section 5 below.)
Cascades
All zones except
Zone 610 and 611
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Ensure adequate distance from downwind SSRAs for smoke to
dissipate. From T15S through T20S in
Zone 608 units should be 1200 tons or less, spaced 6 miles apart.
Zone 610
Units should be
1200 tons or less, spaced 6 miles apart, and 8 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 611
Units should be
1500 tons or less, spaced 6 miles apart, and 8 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Siskiyous
Units should be
1200 tons or less, spaced 6 miles apart, and 8 miles from downwind SSRAs.
==============================================================
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.