The Oregon Department of Forestry is planning a training burn of up to 40 acres of restored grasslands at Greenbelt Land Trust’s Bald Hill Farm property, located a few miles northeast of Philomath.
The timing of the burn depends on weather conditions, with a window for a potential burn opening Monday, according to ODF.
ODF and Greenbelt Land Trust planned the training burn in cooperation and consultation with local fire departments and local fire and conservation organizations and professionals. Trained fire personnel from Philomath Fire and Rescue and the Corvallis Fire Department will join ODF staff in conducting the burn.
Experienced ODF staff will manage the burn under required legal permits. Officials say the exercise offers ODF and other local fire personnel a training opportunity to gain experience burning and observing fire behavior in a grass fuel model, while also helping Greenbelt Land Trust meet ecological goals for the property.
A controlled, or “prescribed,” burn differs significantly from a wildfire. For prescribed ecological burns, fire professionals set a “prescription” in advance for each burn — conditions that account for wind direction and speed, temperature, relative humidity, fuel moisture and smoke management. Burn operations will not begin outside those set conditions, ODF said.
The burn area consists of restored prairie with short-stature native grasses and flowers. According to ODF, ecological burning offers multiple benefits for native prairie habitats and makes restoration and management more effective. Willamette Valley prairies are fire-adapted landscapes, and without regular fire, fuels build up and native plant communities — along with the wildlife that depends on them — degrade over time.