SMOKE MANAGEMENT
FORECAST AND INSTRUCTIONS
SALEM FORESTRY
WEATHER CENTER
OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF FORESTRY
ISSUED: Thursday,
May 7, 2026
2:30 PM Gary Votaw
1. DISCUSSION AND
FORECAST FOR THE WESTERN OREGON AREA FORECAST ZONES 601-623 and 639
SHORT-TERM
DISCUSSION
A
quickly weakening trough arrives on Friday, brushing across the north portion
of the area, cooling temperatures but still a little above average. Areas of morning clouds will break and become
generally sunny in the afternoon.
Burning opportunities for the afternoon are generally fair in the Coast
Range but good for the Cascades with WSW-NW winds.
EXTENDED DISCUSSION
The
ridge rebounds on Saturday with weak SW flow aloft to cause the warmest day of
the week. Mostly sunny skies push
temperatures to reach 10-20oF above seasonal levels. Mixing conditions will be mostly good in the
afternoon with very light winds, favoring SW-WNW.
Another
weak trough brushes across the area on Sunday, mainly north of Oregon. It brings cooler temperatures closer to normal
under partly to mostly sunny skies.
Mixing becomes moderate to good with very light NW winds.
The
ridge once again builds on Monday with sunny skies and returning temperatures
10-20oF above normal. Mixing potential
is good in the afternoon with very light winds, favoring NNW-NE.
2. DISPERSION
FRIDAY
Zone 601, 602,
603 and 612 (North Coast Range):
MORNING
Mixing height below
1000 ft early rising to 1900 - 2900 ft.
Transport wind SW
to W at 6 - 10 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
2500 - 3500 ft.
Transport wind
WSW to WNW at 6 - 12 mph.
Surface wind similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
lowers below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
WNW to NNW at 6 - 10 mph.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
Zone 605-611 and
639 (North Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height below
1000 ft early rising to 1900 - 2900 ft.
Transport wind SW
to W at 10 - 16 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
rising to 3700 - 4700 ft.
Transport wind
WSW to WNW at 10 - 22 mph.
Surface wind
increases to SW to WNW at 4 - 8 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
lowers below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
decreases to WSW to WNW at 6 - 10 mph.
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 1600 - 2600 ft.
Transport wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
2300 - 3300 ft.
Transport wind
increases to WSW to NW at 6 - 10 mph.
Surface wind
increases to W to NW at 6 - 10 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
lowers below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
WNW to NNW at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
Zone 616-623
(South Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height below
1000 ft early rising to 2300 - 3300 ft.
Transport wind SW
to W at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
rising to 4300 - 5000 ft.
Transport
wind WSW to NW at 6 - 10
mph.
Surface wind similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
lowers below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
shifts to NW to N at 6 - 10 mph.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
OUTLOOK:
SATURDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 2600 to 3600 ft by late morning rising to 4200 to
5000 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind ENE to ESE at 4 - 8 mph during the morning becoming SW to WNW at 4 - 8 mph
during the afternoon. Surface wind light
and variable.
SUNDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 1700 to 2700 ft by late morning rising to 3000 to
4000 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind WNW to NNW at 5 - 9 mph. Surface
wind light and variable during the morning becoming WNW to NNW at 6 - 10 mph
during the afternoon.
MONDAY
In the north
mixing height below 1000 ft early rising to 2600 to 3600 ft by late morning
rising to 3700 to 4700 ft during the afternoon.
In the south mixing height below 1000 ft early rising to 1200 to 2200 ft
by late morning rising to 3500 to 4500 ft during the afternoon. Transport wind light and variable during the
morning becoming NNW to NE at 5 - 9 mph during the afternoon. Surface wind light and variable.
3. BURNING
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL ZONES IN THE WESTERN OREGON AREA
- Valid for burning done Friday, May 8,
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 and 603
Units should be
400 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 miles from downwind SSRAs. Limit burning in or near corridors. Higher tonnage is possible south of the
Siuslaw River in Zone 603. Call the
forecaster.
Zone 615 and 616
west of R8W
Units should be
900 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 616 east of
R9W
Units should be
600 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 618 and 619
Units should be
1200 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 620
Units should be
300 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Cascades
Zone 605, 606,
607, 608, 639, 616, 617, 622, and 623
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 and 620
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
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below. Ensure adequate distance from downwind
SSRAs for smoke to dissipate.
==============================================================
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.