SMOKE MANAGEMENT
FORECAST AND INSTRUCTIONS
SALEM FORESTRY
WEATHER CENTER
OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF FORESTRY
ISSUED:
Wednesday, January 28, 2026 2:30 PM Sherri Pugh
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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
Thursday will have showers north with amounts
up to 0.25” and drier conditions south.
A more progressive pattern will have fronts moving over upper-level
ridging centered to the south. Light
surface winds will come from SE-S.
Transport winds will be from SSE-SSW.
Temperatures will rise above average.
Mixing heights will be fair with warmer air aloft.
EXTENDED DISCUSSION
Friday will have more widespread
showers with heavier amount north near 0.25”.
Temperatures will be well-above seasonable. Mixing heights will be lower with further warming
aloft. Surface winds will come from
SSE-SSW, more variable in southern zones.
Transport winds will come from S-SW, stronger north.
Showers will end north and Saturday
will be mostly dry. Flow aloft will come
from SW as upper-level ridging shifts east.
Winds will be from SE-S, light at the surface. Mixing heights will be suppressed.
Rain is likely through the day on
Sunday. An upper-level trough will move
inland with SW flow aloft. Surface winds
will be from S-SW. Transport winds will be
stronger from SW. Freezing levels will drop
under 4000 feet. Mixing heights will
improve.
2. DISPERSION
THURSDAY
Zone 601, 602,
603 and 612 (North Coast Range):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 800 ft early rising to 1000 - 1500 ft by late morning.
Transport wind S
to SW at 8 - 12 mph.
Surface wind SSE
to SSW at 4 - 8 mph.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
1300 - 2300 ft.
Transport wind similar to morning.
Surface wind similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
lowers below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
SSE to SSW at 9 - 15 mph.
Surface wind ESE
to SSE at 4 - 8 mph.
Zone 605-611 and
639 (North Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 1000 ft.
Transport wind S
to SW at 6 - 10 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable but favors S and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
1300 - 2300 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 500 ft early rising to 1000 - 1500 ft by late morning.
Transport wind
ESE to S at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable but favors S-SE and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
1300 - 2300 ft.
Transport wind
SSE to SSW at 6 - 10 mph.
Surface wind similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
lowers below 1000 ft.
Transport wind
ESE to S at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
OUTLOOK:
FRIDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft during the morning rising to 1000 to 1700 ft during the
afternoon. Transport wind SSE to SW at 6
- 10 mph. Surface wind light and
variable.
SATURDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft during the morning rising to 1000 to 1600 ft during the
afternoon. Transport wind SE to S at 6 -
10 mph. Surface wind light and variable
during the morning becoming ESE to SSE at 4 - 8 mph during the afternoon.
SUNDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 3000 to 4000 ft by late morning and through the
afternoon. Transport wind SSW to WSW at
10 - 18 mph. Surface wind S to SW at 4 -
8 mph.
3. BURNING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL ZONES IN THE
WESTERN OREGON AREA
- Valid for burning done Thursday, January
29, 2026.
=================================================================
Coast Range
***Avoid
ignitions before 10 a.m. in all zones.
Complete ignitions by 3:30 p.m. in all zones.***
Zone 601
Units should be
1500 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
Units should be
300 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs. North of T3N in Zone 602, use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Units may be 900 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, south of the
Siuslaw River in Zone 603.
Zone 612
Units should be
1200 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 615, 616
west of R8W, 618, 619, and 620
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Avoid burning directly upwind of the North Bend/Coos Bay SSRA.
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, 606,
607, 608, 639, 610, and 623
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Ensure adequate distance from downwind SSRAs for smoke to
dissipate. Verify transport winds away
from SSRA if burning within 10 miles of the SSRA in Zone 605 and 606.
Zone 611 and 617
Units should be
900 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 616
Units should be
600 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 620 and 622
Units should be
1200 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.