SMOKE MANAGEMENT
FORECAST AND INSTRUCTIONS
SALEM FORESTRY
WEATHER CENTER
OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF FORESTRY
ISSUED: Monday,
December 5, 2022
2:40 PM Pete Parsons
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* Special Protection Zone (SPZ) provisions
apply from November 15 through February 15.
Prescribed burning is not allowed on Red
woodstove days in an SPZ from December 1 through February 15. Burning is
allowed inside of SPZs on green and yellow woodstove 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
An upper-level trough currently centered over SW Oregon pushes
south and east of the region on Tuesday with a weak and transitory ridge
bringing a drier NW-NE flow aloft. Areas
of morning drizzle are possible, mainly north and along the coast, otherwise expect
at least partial clearing. Transport winds
will turn weakly onshore which should slightly improve mixing and return
temperatures to near average. Snow
levels will hold near 3000 feet.
EXTENDED DISCUSSION
The transitory ridge progresses east on Wednesday with
increasing westerly flow aloft ahead of an approaching weather system from the eastern
Gulf of Alaska. Look for increasing
clouds with a chance of rain on the coast by evening. Mixing should continue to improve with S-SW
transport winds maintaining near-average temperatures.
On Thursday, a strong cold front will bring rain and brisk
S-SW winds in the morning, followed by showers in the afternoon. Mixing should be good with cooling aloft dropping
snow levels to 2-3000 feet. Temperatures
will remain near average.
On Friday, another strong weather system will bring increasing
rain, mountain snow, and E-SE winds. Snow
levels will hold at 2-3000 feet. Mixing
should be good despite below-average surface temperatures.
2. DISPERSION
TUESDAY
Zone 601-612 and
639 (North Coast Range and Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 1500 - 2500 ft by late morning.
Transport wind SW
to WNW at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind
light and variable but favors SW to W and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
2300 - 3300 ft.
Transport wind similar to morning.
Surface wind similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
1000 - 1700 ft.
Transport wind SW
to W at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
Zone 615-623
(South Coast Range and Cascades):
MORNING
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 1300 - 2300 ft by late morning.
Transport wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
Surface wind
light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
AFTERNOON
Mixing height
2300 - 3300 ft.
Transport wind
increases to WNW to NNW at 4 - 8 mph.
Surface wind similar to morning.
EVENING
Mixing height
1000 - 1700 ft.
Transport wind
becomes light and variable and controlled by local terrain.
Surface wind similar to afternoon.
OUTLOOK:
WEDNESDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 1200 to 2200 ft by late morning rising to 2400 to
3400 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind SSE to SSW at 4 - 8 mph. Surface
wind light and variable during the morning becoming S to SW at 4 - 8 mph during
the afternoon.
THURSDAY
Mixing height
below 1000 ft early rising to 2300 to 3300 ft by late morning rising to 4000 to
5000 ft during the afternoon. Transport
wind SSE to SSW at 8 - 14 mph. Surface
wind SE to SSW at 6 - 10 mph.
FRIDAY
Mixing height
1800 to 2800 ft during the morning rising to 4000 to 5000 ft during the
afternoon. Transport wind SE to S at 8 -
14 mph. Surface wind SE to S at 6 - 10
mph.
3. BURNING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL ZONES IN THE
WESTERN OREGON AREA
- Valid for burning done Tuesday, December
6, 2022.
=================================================================
Coast Range
***Avoid
ignitions before 10 a.m. in all zones.
Complete ignitions by 3 p.m. in all zones.***
Zone 601
Units should be
1000 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 and 616
east of R9W
Units should be
900 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 615 and 616
west of R8W
Units should be
1200 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Zone 618 and 619
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Zone 620
Units should be
600 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs. Higher tonnage is possible south of T35S -
call the forecaster.
Cascades
***Avoid
ignitions before 10 a.m. in all zones.
Complete ignitions by 3 p.m. in all zones.***
Zone 605, 606,
607, 608, 639, 610, 617, and 623
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below.
Ensure adequate distance from downwind SSRAs for smoke to dissipate.
Zone 611
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
300 tons or less, spaced 12 miles apart, and 12 miles from downwind SSRAs.
Siskiyous
Use standard
guidance matrix - see section 5 below. Ensure adequate distance from downwind
SSRAs for smoke to dissipate.
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4. SPECIAL NOTE:
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.