SMOKE MANAGEMENT
FORECAST AND INSTRUCTIONS
SALEM FORESTRY
WEATHER CENTER
OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF FORESTRY
ISSUED: Tuesday,
April 21, 2026
2:30 PM Sherri Pugh
1. DISCUSSION AND FORECAST FOR THE WESTERN
OREGON AREA FORECAST ZONES 601-623 and 639
Rain and mountain snow will bring up
to 0.25” rainfall totals on Wednesday.
Flow aloft will turn from N with an upper-level trough shifting east and
ridging far offshore. Winds will be
brisk from SW-W. Temperatures sink
further below average while freezing levels will be on the rise toward 5000
feet. Mixing heights will be fair to
good.
EXTENDED DISCUSSION
A few showers early
will turn to dry weather on Thursday.
Temperatures will rise to near seasonable. Mixing heights will be fair to good. Light winds will be from SW-NW at the surface
and mostly onshore for transport winds.
Friday will be dry
with light N flow aloft. Light winds
will come from N in general. Temperatures
will climb above average. Mixing heights
will lower, especially for coastal zones.
While Saturday starts
dry, a few showers will arrive late. Flow
aloft will be from N and temperatures will continue above average. Light winds will be from NW-NE. Mixing heights will be fair to good.
2. DISPERSION
WEDNESDAY
Zone 601, 602,
603 and 612 (North Coast Range):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 2000 ft early rising to 2300 - 3300 ft by late morning.
Transport wind
WSW at 22 - 38 mph.
Surface wind SSW
to WSW at 6 - 10 mph.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
2300 - 3300 ft.
Transport wind similar to morning.
Surface wind SW
to W at 8 - 12 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
1500 - 2500 ft.
Transport wind
decreases to SSW to WSW at 12 - 24 mph.
Surface wind SSW
to WSW at 4 - 8 mph.
Zone 605-611 and
639 (North Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 1500 ft early rising to 2500 - 3500 ft by late morning.
Transport wind
WSW at 22 - 38 mph.
Surface wind SW
to W at 6 - 10 mph.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
3000 - 4000 ft.
Transport wind W
at 22 - 38 mph.
Surface wind similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
1000 - 2000 ft.
Transport wind
decreases to WSW to WNW at 15 - 25 mph.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
Zone 615-620
(South Coast Range):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 2000 ft early rising to 2500 - 3500 ft by late morning.
Transport wind
SSW to WSW at 9 - 15 mph.
Surface wind S to
SW at 4 - 8 mph.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
2700 - 3700 ft.
Transport wind similar to morning.
Surface wind SW
to W at 6 - 10 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
1000 - 2000 ft.
Transport wind
WSW to WNW at 8 - 12 mph.
Surface wind WSW
to WNW at 4 - 8 mph.
Zone 616-623
(South Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 1500 ft early rising to 3000 - 4000 ft by late morning.
Transport wind SW
to W at 8 - 12 mph.
Surface wind SSW
to WSW at 4 - 8 mph.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
3500 - 4500 ft.
Transport wind
increases to WSW to WNW at 10 - 22 mph.
Surface wind WSW
to WNW at 6 - 10 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
1000 - 2000 ft.
Transport wind
decreases to W to NW at 8 - 12 mph.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
OUTLOOK:
THURSDAY
In the north
mixing height below 1000 ft early rising to 1400 to 2400 ft by late morning
rising to 3000 to 4000 ft during the afternoon.
In the south mixing height below 1000 ft early rising to 2200 to 3200 ft
by late morning rising to 2800 to 3800 ft during the afternoon. Transport wind SW to WNW at 4 - 8 mph during
the morning becoming WNW to NNW at 4 - 8 mph during the afternoon. Surface wind light and variable during the
morning becoming W to NW at 4 - 8 mph during the afternoon.
FRIDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 1800 to 2800 ft by late morning rising to 2400 to
3400 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind NE to E at 4 - 8 mph during the morning becoming
N to NE at 4 - 8 mph during the afternoon.
Surface wind light and variable.
SATURDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 2000 to 3000 ft by late morning rising to 4200 to
5000 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind NNW to NNE at 4 - 8 mph. Surface
wind light and variable during the morning becoming NNW to NE at 4 - 8 mph
during the afternoon.
3. BURNING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL ZONES IN THE
WESTERN OREGON AREA
- Valid for burning done Wednesday, April
22, 2026.
=================================================================
Coast Range
Zone 601
Units should be
500 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs. North of Tillamook, use standard guidance
matrix. (See section 5 below.)
Zone 602 and 603
No burning
allowed. North of T3N in Zone 602, use
standard guidance matrix. (See section 5 below.) Limit burning in or near corridors. Units may be 500 tons or less, spaced 12
miles apart, south of the Siuslaw River in Zone 603.
Zone 615, 616
west of R8W, and 620
Units should be
1200 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 miles from downwind SSRAs. Higher tonnage is possible south of T29S in
Zone 616. Call the forecaster. Higher tonnage is possible south of T35S in
Zone 620. Call the forecaster.
Zone 616 east of
R9W
Units should be
750 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 miles from downwind SSRAs. Higher tonnage is possible south of
T29S. Call the forecaster.
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 900 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart.
Zone 610 and 611
Units should be
900 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 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.