SMOKE MANAGEMENT
FORECAST AND INSTRUCTIONS
SALEM FORESTRY
WEATHER CENTER
OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF FORESTRY
ISSUED: Monday,
December 29, 2025
2:30 PM Sherri Pugh
**************** Air Stagnation Advisory Information
****************
An Air Stagnation Advisory may be in effect for your
area (consult the link below for the latest information). Please use 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
Upper-level ridging will dominate the
early week pattern. Early morning frost
or fog with strong inversions will turn to dry, mostly sunny weather on
Tuesday. Mixing heights will be suppressed
with warm air aloft and burning near SSRAs will be limited. Surface winds will be light and
offshore. Light transport winds will
come from E-S. Temperatures will rise above
average except for valley locations that stay under fog extensively.
EXTENDED DISCUSSION
Wednesday will have
continued dry conditions with early morning frost
and fog along with strong inversions.
Mixing heights will be poor under upper-level ridging. Light surface winds will be offshore and
transport winds will be from SE-SSW.
Temperatures will be above seasonable.
Showers build late on Thursday from
south to north as the upper-level ridge weakens impacts on the region. Mixing heights will gradually improve. Temperatures will be near to above
average. Surface winds continue light and offshore.
Transport winds will be from SSE-S.
Friday will have more rain, heavier
later in the day. Flow aloft will
increase from S with an upper-level trough offshore. Surface winds will come from E-S. Stronger transport winds will be from
SSE-S. Mixing heights will be good.
2. DISPERSION
TUESDAY
All Zones:
MORNING
Mixing height
below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
light and variable but favors E-S and controlled by local terrain.
Surface wind
light and variable but favors E-S and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
1000 - 1500 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.
OUTLOOK:
WEDNESDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft during the morning rising to 1200 to 2200 ft during the
afternoon. Transport wind light and
variable. Surface wind light and
variable.
THURSDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft during the morning rising to 1900 to 2900 ft during the
afternoon. Transport wind ESE to S at 4
- 8 mph. Surface wind light and
variable.
FRIDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 1000 to 2000 ft by late morning rising to 3200 to
4200 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind ESE to SSE at 8 - 12 mph during the morning becoming SE to S at 13 - 25
mph during the afternoon. Surface wind E
to SE at 4 - 8 mph.
3. BURNING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL ZONES IN THE
WESTERN OREGON AREA
- Valid for burning done Tuesday, December
30, 2025.
=================================================================
Coast Range
***Avoid
ignitions before 10 a.m. in all zones.
Complete ignitions by 2:30 p.m. in all zones.***
Zone 601, 612,
and 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 in
Zone 616 - call the forecaster.
Zone 602 and 603
Units should be
300 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 615 and 616
west of R8W
Units should be
1200 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 618 and 619
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Zone 620
Units should be
600 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Cascades
***Avoid
ignitions before 10 a.m. in all zones.
Complete ignitions by 2:30 p.m. in all zones.***
Zone 605, 606,
620, and 622
Units should be
300 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 607, 608,
and 616
Units should be
600 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 639, 610,
and 611
Units should be
1200 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 617
Units should be
900 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 623
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Siskiyous
***Avoid
ignitions before 10 a.m. Complete ignitions by 2:30 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.