SMOKE MANAGEMENT
FORECAST AND INSTRUCTIONS
SALEM FORESTRY
WEATHER CENTER
OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF FORESTRY
ISSUED:
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 2:30 PM Pete Parsons
**************** Air Stagnation Advisory Information
****************
An Air Stagnation Advisory may be in effect for your
area (consult the link below for the latest information). Please take 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
SHORT-TERM DISCUSSION
The axis of a strong upper-level ridge, currently over
Oregon, will shift eastward, to over Idaho, on Thursday. Increasing SE-S flow aloft over Oregon will keep
freezing levels above 7000 feet. Unseasonably
warm air aloft will maintain generally poor daytime mixing. Skies should be sunny with mild daytime
temperatures. Light SE-S winds will
slacken in the evening with local drainage flows dominating.
EXTENDED DISCUSSION
The upper-level ridge weakens on Friday, allowing a weak and
splitting frontal system to spread some clouds across the state. Areas of light rain are possible along the
coastal strip. Surface temperatures
remain quite mild. Slight cooling aloft may
marginally improve afternoon mixing, as winds turn light SW-W across all zones.
SW flow aloft pushes the next in what appears will be a
series of progressively stronger weather systems ashore on Saturday. Expect increasing clouds but with only slight
cooling. Mixing will marginally improve
with increasing S-SW transport winds. Rain
may impact the extreme NW zones in the afternoon, before extending south and
east Saturday night.
Rain pushes eastward across all zones on Sunday with snow
levels dropping to 4000 feet north and 5000 feet south late. Temperatures cool back to near seasonal
normals. Rain totals could exceed an
inch along the coast but will taper off to less than .10” east of the Cascades. Mixing improves with brisk SW transport
winds.
2. DISPERSION
THURSDAY
Zone 601-612 and
639 (North Coast Range and Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
ENE to ESE at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind ENE
to ESE at 4 - 8 mph.
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.
Zone 615-623
(South Coast Range and Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 1000 ft.
Transport wind SE
to S at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind ESE
to S at 4 - 8 mph.
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
becomes light and variable but favors SE and controlled by local terrain.
Surface wind
becomes light and variable but favors SE and controlled by local terrain.
OUTLOOK:
FRIDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft during the morning rising to 1000 to 1800 ft during the
afternoon. Transport wind light and
variable during the morning becoming SW to W at 4 - 8 mph during the afternoon. Surface wind light and variable.
SATURDAY
In the Coast
Range mixing height below 1000 ft early rising to 1400 to 2400 ft by late
morning rising to 2200 to 3200 ft during the afternoon. In the Cascades mixing height below 1000 ft
early rising to 1000 to 1600 ft by late morning and through the afternoon. Transport wind SSE to SSW at 6 - 12 mph. Surface wind SSE to SSW at 5 - 9 mph.
SUNDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 2200 to 3200 ft by late morning rising above 5000
ft during the afternoon. Transport wind
SSE to SSW at 6 - 12 mph during the morning becoming SSW to WSW at 12 - 22 mph
during the afternoon. Surface wind S to
SW at 6 - 10 mph.
3. BURNING
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL ZONES IN THE WESTERN OREGON AREA
- Valid for burning done Thursday, February
5, 2026.
=================================================================
Coast Range
***Avoid
ignitions before 10 a.m. in all zones.
Complete ignitions by 3:30 p.m. in all zones.***
Zone 601, 602,
603, 612, 615, 616 west of R8W, 618, 619, and 620
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Avoid burning directly upwind of coastal SSRAs. Higher tonnage is possible south of T29S in
Zone 616 - call the forecaster.
Zone 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 -
call the forecaster.
Cascades
***Avoid
ignitions before 10 a.m. in all zones.
Complete ignitions by 3:30 p.m. in all zones.***
Zone 605 and 606
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. In zone 616 avoid ignitions north of
T24S. South of T29S higher tonnage is
possible - call the forecaster.
Zone 639, 611,
620, and 622
Units should be
1200 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 610 and 623
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Zone 617
Units should be
900 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Siskiyous
***Avoid
ignitions before 10 a.m. Complete ignitions by 3:30 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.