SMOKE MANAGEMENT
FORECAST AND INSTRUCTIONS
SALEM FORESTRY
WEATHER CENTER
OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF FORESTRY
ISSUED: Tuesday,
May 19, 2026
2:30 PM Sherri Pugh
1. DISCUSSION AND FORECAST FOR THE WESTERN
OREGON AREA FORECAST ZONES 601-623 and 639
Most of the region will be dry under
the influence of upper-level ridging just offshore with N flow aloft for Wednesday. Isolated showers are possible in far northern
zones. Surface winds will be generally
from N while transport winds will come from NW-N. Temperatures will be near or above
seasonable. Mixing heights will be fair
to good.
EXTENDED DISCUSSION
Flow aloft will be
from NW with upper-level ridging on Thursday.
Temperatures will climb well above average. Winds will be variable and offshore at times
with dry weather. Mixing heights will be
fair to poor on the coast and higher inland.
The upper-level
ridge begins to weaken and flatten on Friday with light NW flow aloft. Temperatures continue well above seasonable. Winds will be from N on the coast and W-NW
for the Cascades. Mixing heights will be
from fair to good.
Saturday will have
light SW flow aloft. Winds will come from
WSW-NNW. Mixing heights will be fair to
good. Dry weather will have well above average temperatures.
2. DISPERSION
WEDNESDAY
Zone 601, 602,
603 and 612 (North Coast Range):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 500 ft early rising to 2300 - 3300 ft by late morning.
Transport wind
NNW to NNE at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
2700 - 3700 ft.
Transport wind similar to morning.
Surface wind
increases to NNW to NNE at 4 - 8 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
lowers below 1000 ft.
Transport wind NW
to N at 6 - 10 mph.
Surface wind NW
to N at 4 - 8 mph.
Zone 605-611, 639
and 616-623 (North and South Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 500 ft early rising to 2700 - 3700 ft by late morning.
Transport wind NW
to N at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
3500 - 4500 ft.
Transport wind
WNW to NNW at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
1000 - 1500 ft.
Transport wind
NNW to NNE at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
Zone 615-620
(South Coast Range):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 500 ft early rising to 2300 - 3300 ft by late morning.
Transport wind N
to NE at 6 - 10 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
2300 - 3300 ft.
Transport wind similar to morning.
Surface wind
increases to NNW to NNE at 4 - 8 mph.
EVENING
Mixing height
lowers below 1000 ft.
Transport wind similar to afternoon.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
OUTLOOK:
THURSDAY
In the Coast
Range mixing height below 1000 ft early rising to 1600 to 2600 ft by late
morning rising to 2200 to 3200 ft during the afternoon. In the Cascades mixing height below 1000 ft
early rising to 2200 to 3200 ft by late morning rising to 4000 to 5000 ft
during the afternoon. Transport wind NNE
to ENE at 4 - 8 mph. Surface wind light
and variable.
FRIDAY
In the Coast
Range mixing height below 1000 ft early rising to 1000 to 2000 ft by late
morning rising to 1800 to 2800 ft during the afternoon. In the Cascades mixing height below 1000 ft
early rising to 2100 to 3100 ft by late morning rising to 3600 to 4600 ft
during the afternoon. Transport wind
light and variable during the morning becoming WNW to NNW at 4 - 8 mph during
the afternoon. Surface wind light and
variable during the morning becoming WNW to NNW at 4 - 8 mph during the
afternoon.
SATURDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 1600 to 2600 ft by late morning rising to 2900 to
3900 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind WSW to NW at 4 - 8 mph. Surface
wind W to NW at 4 - 8 mph.
3. BURNING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL ZONES IN THE
WESTERN OREGON AREA
- Valid for burning done Wednesday, May 20,
2026.
=================================================================
Coast Range
Zone 601, 612,
615, 616, 618, 619, and 620
Use standard
guidance matrix. (See section 5 below.)
Avoid burning directly upwind of coastal SSRAs.
Zone 602 and 603
Units should be
600 tons or less, spaced 8 miles apart, and 10 miles from downwind SSRAs. Limit tonnage north of Forest Grove/Hillsboro
or Sheridan/Willamina in Zone 602. Higher
tonnage is possible south of T17S in Zone 603.
Call the forecaster.
Cascades
Zone 605, 606,
607, 608, 639, 611, 616, 617, and 623
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Ensure adequate distance from downwind SSRAs for smoke to
dissipate. From T12S through T17S in
Zone 608 units should be 1200 tons or less, spaced 6 miles apart. South of T30S in Zone 616 units should be
1000 tons or less, spaced 6 miles apart.
South of T30S in Zone 617 units should be 1000 tons or less, spaced 6
miles apart.
Zone 610
Units should be
1200 tons or less, spaced 6 miles apart, and 8 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 620 and 622
Units should be
750 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.