SMOKE MANAGEMENT
FORECAST AND INSTRUCTIONS
SALEM FORESTRY
WEATHER CENTER
OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF FORESTRY
ISSUED: Monday,
May 4, 2026 2:30 PM Gary Votaw
1. DISCUSSION AND FORECAST FOR THE WESTERN
OREGON AREA FORECAST ZONES 601-623 and 639
SHORT-TERM
DISCUSSION
An
upper-level ridge just offshore is causing NE flow aloft but weak onshore winds
at lower levels. Areas of morning clouds
on Tuesday morning will break and skies become sunny, temperatures around 10oF
above seasonal. Burning potential for
the afternoon is fair in the Coast Range but good for the Cascades. Transport winds will be very light in the in
the Coast Range, favoring NW-N, a little stronger for the Cascades from NW-NNE.
EXTENDED DISCUSSION
The
ridge weakens slightly on Wednesday but rebounds by Thursday. Both days will be mostly sunny and very warm with
little noticeable change, still about 10oF above normal. Mixing will still range from fair to good in
the afternoons with light W-NW winds.
A weak trough arrives on Friday. Skies will be partly sunny and a little cooler
but otherwise dry. Mixing becomes good
in afternoon with light W-NW winds.
2. DISPERSION
TUESDAY
Zone 601, 602,
603 and 612 (North 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
2000 - 3000 ft.
Transport wind
similar to morning.
Surface wind
similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
1000 - 1700 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 2600 - 3600 ft.
Transport wind
NNE to ENE at 5 - 9 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
rising above 5000 ft.
Transport wind
NNW to NE at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind
similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
1400 - 2400 ft.
Transport wind
becomes light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
Surface wind
similar to afternoon.
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
2500 - 3500 ft.
Transport wind
increases to NW to N at 5 - 9 mph.
Surface wind
increases to W to NW at 5 - 9 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
1000 - 1700 ft.
Transport wind
becomes light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
Surface wind
becomes light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
Zone 616-623
(South Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height 1000
– 2000 ft early rising to 1900 - 2900 ft.
Transport wind
WNW to NNW at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
rising to 4400 - 5000 ft.
Transport wind
WNW to NNW at 8 - 14 mph.
Surface wind
increases to WNW to NNW at 4 - 8 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
1500 - 2500 ft.
Transport wind
NNW to NNE at 6 - 10 mph.
Surface wind
similar to afternoon.
OUTLOOK:
WEDNESDAY
In the Coast
Range mixing height below 1000 ft early rising to 1600 to 2600 ft by late
morning rising to 2500 to 3500 ft during the afternoon. In the Cascades mixing height below 1000 ft
early rising to 3300 to 4300 ft by late morning rising above 5000 ft during the
afternoon. Transport wind light and
variable during the morning becoming WSW to NW at 6 - 10 mph during the
afternoon. Surface wind light and
variable.
THURSDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 2000 to 3000 ft by late morning rising to 3600 to
4600 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind light and variable during the morning becoming W to NW at 6 - 10 mph
during the afternoon. Surface wind WSW
to NW at 4 - 8 mph.
FRIDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 2000 to 3000 ft by late morning rising to 3700 to
4700 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind light and variable during the morning becoming W to NW at 8 - 14 mph
during the afternoon. Surface wind light
and variable during the morning becoming WSW to NW at 5 - 9 mph during the
afternoon.
3. BURNING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL ZONES IN THE
WESTERN OREGON AREA
- Valid for burning done Tuesday, May 5,
2026.
=================================================================
Coast Range
Zone 601 and 612
Units should be
600 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 602 and 603
Units should be
300 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 615, 618,
and 619
Use standard
guidance matrix. (See section 5 below.)
Avoid burning directly upwind of the North Bend/Coos Bay SSRA.
Zone 616 west of
R8W
Units should be
1500 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 616 east of
R9W
Units should be
1000 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 miles from downwind SSRAs. Restrict units to 500 tons or less south of
T30S.
Zone 620
Units should be
300 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 miles from downwind SSRAs. Higher tonnage is possible south of the Rogue
River. Call the forecaster.
Cascades
Zone 605 and 606
Units should be
1500 tons or less, spaced 3 miles apart, and 5 miles from downwind SSRAs. Verify transport winds away from SSRA if
burning within 10 miles of the SSRA.
Higher tonnage is possible south of T20S in Zone 606 - call the
forecaster.
Zone 607, 608,
639, 610, 611, 616, 617, and 623
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Ensure adequate distance from downwind SSRAs for smoke to
dissipate. South of T30S in Zone 616
units should be 1000 tons or less, spaced 6 miles apart.
Zone 620 and 622
Units should be
750 tons or less, spaced 6 miles apart, and 8 miles from downwind SSRAs. East of R2W in Zone 622, use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
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.