SMOKE MANAGEMENT
FORECAST AND INSTRUCTIONS
SALEM FORESTRY
WEATHER CENTER
OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF FORESTRY
ISSUED: Tuesday,
May 12, 2026
2:30 PM Sherri Pugh
1. DISCUSSION AND FORECAST FOR THE WESTERN
OREGON AREA FORECAST ZONES 601-623 and 639
Showers arrive for Wednesday with amounts
from 0.10-0.25”. An upper-level trough
will move through early. Winds will be
from SW-W with stronger transport winds.
Temperatures will drop below average. Mixing heights will be good to excellent.
EXTENDED DISCUSSION
Flow aloft will be
from W on Thursday with a few showers far north and mostly dry conditions for
much of the region. Winds will be from
W-NW. Temperatures will warm to near
seasonable. Mixing heights will lower
some but stay mostly good.
A weak upper-level
trough will move into Washington on Friday.
Most showers will stay north of Oregon.
Winds will be onshore and temperatures will be back below average. Mixing heights will increase.
Showers will
increase on Saturday though remaining mostly light with broad upper-level
troughing. Winds will be onshore from
W-NW with below seasonable temperatures.
Mixing heights will be good.
Showers last into Sunday.
2. DISPERSION
WEDNESDAY
Zone 601, 602,
603 and 612 (North Coast Range):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 2000 ft early rising to 2500 - 3500 ft by late morning.
Transport wind SW
to WSW at 18 - 30 mph.
Surface wind SSW
to WSW at 6 - 10 mph.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
3000 - 4000 ft.
Transport wind similar to morning.
Surface wind similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
2500 - 3500 ft.
Transport wind
decreases to SW to WSW at 12 - 24 mph.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
Zone 605-611 and
639 (North Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 2000 ft early rising to 3500 - 4500 ft by late morning.
Transport wind W
at 22 - 38 mph.
Surface wind SW
to W at 8 - 12 mph.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
rising above 5000 ft.
Transport wind similar to morning.
Surface wind similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
2500 - 3500 ft.
Transport wind W
at 19 - 33 mph.
Surface wind WSW
to WNW at 8 - 12 mph.
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 SSW
to WSW at 4 - 8 mph.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
3000 - 4000 ft.
Transport wind
WSW to WNW at 9 - 15 mph.
Surface wind WSW
to WNW at 4 - 8 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
1500 - 2500 ft.
Transport wind W
to NW at 8 - 12 mph.
Surface wind
shifts to NW to N at 4 - 8 mph.
Zone 616-623
(South Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 2000 ft early rising to 3500 - 4500 ft by late morning.
Transport wind SW
to W at 10 - 18 mph.
Surface wind SW
to W at 4 - 8 mph.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
rising above 5000 ft.
Transport wind
shifts to W to NW at 10 - 18 mph.
Surface wind
shifts to W to NW at 4 - 8 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
2500 - 3500 ft.
Transport wind similar to afternoon.
Surface wind WNW
to NNW at 4 - 8 mph.
OUTLOOK:
THURSDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 2200 to 3200 ft by late morning rising to 3100 to
4100 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind WSW to WNW at 4 - 8 mph during the morning becoming W to NW 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.
FRIDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 2700 to 3700 ft by late morning rising to 3500 to
4500 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind WSW to NW at 4 - 8 mph. Surface
wind light and variable during the morning becoming W to NW at 4 - 8 mph during
the afternoon.
SATURDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 3500 to 4500 ft by late morning and through the
afternoon. Transport wind WSW to NW at 6
- 12 mph. Surface wind light and
variable during the morning becoming W to NW at 4 - 8 mph during the afternoon.
3. BURNING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL ZONES IN THE
WESTERN OREGON AREA
- Valid for burning done Wednesday, May 13,
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. North of Tillamook in Zone
601, use standard guidance matrix. (See section 5 below.)
Zone 602 and 603
Units should be
400 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 miles from downwind SSRAs. 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 8 miles apart, south of the
Siuslaw River in Zone 603.
Zone 615 and 616
west of R8W
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.
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.)
Zone 620
Units should be
300 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Cascades
Zone 605, 606,
607, 608, 639, 616, 617, 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 3 miles apart.
Zone 610 and 622
Units should be
1200 tons or less, spaced 3 miles apart, and 5 miles from downwind SSRAs. East of R2W in Zone 622, use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Zone 611
Units should be
1500 tons or less, spaced 3 miles apart, and 5 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 620
Units should be
750 tons or less, spaced 3 miles apart, and 5 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.