Daily Prescribed Fire Activity

Prescribed burns normally occur in the spring and fall depending upon weather and fuel conditions. Expect light to moderate smoke in areas near prescribed burning operations. Read more about Smoke information  and Prescribed fire information. Prescribed burns do not occur during burn bans.

Please note:  Planned burns are subject to change without notice due to weather and smoke impact to communities. Fire specialists will cease burning if objectives are not being met. 

The best way to find where a prescribed burn is happening is to check the following:

A firefighter holding a driptorch dripping lit fuel onto the ground This week's prescribed fire activity:

June 19, 2024:  Naches and Cle Elum Ranger District crews will continue burning operations in Canteen Unit 1 located approx. 15 miles northwest of Naches, WA. They plan to burn 360 acres. Conditions have been too wet to burn so far this spring, but fuels have dried out enough recently to allow crews to burn this unit. Although a burn ban is in effect for Yakima County, burning may be allowed when permitted through the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency and we work in conjunction with WA State Dept. of Natural Resources who has given clearance for this prescribed burn operation. Read more

June 18, 2024:  Naches Ranger District crews will be burning 170 acres in Canteen Unit 1 located approx. 15 miles northwest of Naches, WA. Conditions have been too wet to burn so far this spring, but fuels have dried out enough recently to allow crews to now burn this unit. Read more

June 12, 2024:  Naches Ranger District crews will be burning 100 acres in the southeast corner of Canteen unit 1 located approx. 15 miles northwest of Naches, WA. Conditions in these units have been too wet to burn so far this spring, but fuels have dried out enough recently to allow crews to now burn these units.

Fuel conditions vary across the 3.8-million-acre Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Fuels may be dry in one area, such as Chelan Ranger District where the Pioneer Fire is currently burning, and wetter in other areas, such as the Naches Ranger District. The window of time for conducting prescribed fire is small, as these burns must be planned and executed when conditions are right and when the capacity of trained, experienced staff allows. Prescribed fire managers always work within a framework, or prescription, and certain conditions must be met before a prescribed fire may occur.

Fire managers use prescribed fire to mimic the natural role of fire on the landscape to help maintain or restore ecosystems to a healthier condition and reduce wildfire risk. Read more

May 17, 2024: Prescribed burning did not occur in the Hornet Ridge unit yesterday due to unfavorable burning conditions. Crews continued to reinforce the edges of the unit. Read more

May 16, 2024: Methow Valley Ranger District crews will be working in the Hornet Ridge burn unit, located in the Libby Creek area 6 miles west of Carlton, WA, burning approx. 20-30 acres. The unit, which was ignited two weeks ago and was in monitor status, has reignited so crews will be in the unit securing it today. Smoke will be visible from Winthrop, Twisp, and Carlton.

“Yesterday with the winds the burn unit started to pick up and today we will be looking at securing the unit. Fuels within the unit did not completely consume on our first entry and in order to keep the fire inside the burn unit we will be securing the edges today,” said Assistant Fire Management Officer Brian Campbell. Read more

May 7, 2024: Springtime prescribed burning has ended on all Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest ranger districts except for the Naches Ranger District. If conditions allow, Naches District personnel will attempt to complete some prescribed burning projects within the next couple of weeks. Read more

April 29 through May 2, 2024:  No prescribed burning will be occurring this week. Read more

April 25, 2024: Methow Valley Ranger District crews will continue burning operations in the Hornet Ridge unit located 6 miles west of Carlton, WA. Crews were not able to complete the entire burn there yesterday and will finish burning the remaining 30-40 acres there today.  Accomplishment:  Crews successfully burned 30 acres.  Read more

April 24, 2024:  Methow Valley Ranger District crews will be burning 163 acres in the Hornet Ridge Unit located approximately 6 miles west of Carlton, WA.  Accomplishment:  Crews burned approximately 125 acres. Read more

April 22, 2024:  Methow Valley Ranger District crews will be burning 120 acres in the Libby Creek area approximately 4 miles west of Carlton, WA. Accomplishment:  Crews successfully burned 120 acres. Read more

April 18, 2024: Cle Elum Ranger District crews will be finishing up burning 50 acres in the Orion 5 Unit on Blewett Pass approximately 15 miles northwest of Cle Elum, WA. Read more

April 17, 2024: Cle Elum District crews will be burning 150 acres in Orion Unit 5 located in the Blewett Pass area approximately 15 miles northwest of Cle Elum, WA.  Accomplishment:  Crews burned 100 acres. Read more

April April 13, 2024:  UPDATE--This burn was cancelled due to poor weather conditions. Methow Valley Ranger District crews will be burning 120 acres in the Libby Creek Unit located 4 miles west of Carlton, WA. Read more

April 11, 2024:  Methow Valley Ranger District crews will be burning 50 acres in Lost Driveway Unit 10 located about a mile west of Mazama, WA. Smoke will be very visible.  Naches Ranger District personnel will be working in Canteen Units 10 &11, about 15 miles northwest of Naches, WA. They will be burning strips along unit edges creating black lines that will be used as firelines when future underburning occurs in those units. Read more

  • Accomplishments:  Crews burned 50 acres west of Mazama.

April 10, 2024:  Wenatchee River Ranger District crews will ignite 126 acres in the Beehive Reservoir area 6 miles southwest of Wenatchee, WA, today. Smoke will be very visible. Naches Ranger District personnel will be working in Canteen Units 1 & 2 located about 15 miles northwest of Naches, WA, today and Thursday. They will be burning strips along unit edges creating black lines that will be used as firelines when future underburning occurs in those units. Read more

April 8, 2024:  CANCELLED:  Due to predicted windy weather, today's prescribed burn near Beehive Reservoir has been cancelled. 

Original info:  Wenatchee River Ranger District crews will be igniting 130 acres in the Beehive Reservoir area 6 miles southwest of Wenatchee, WA today. Smoke will be very visible. Read more

April 1-2, 2024:  Wenatchee River Ranger District crews will be igniting 360 acres in the Number 2 Canyon area 4 miles west of Wenatchee, WA on April 1. They will continue burning another 100 acres there on Tuesday, April 2. Smoke will be very visible.

  • Accomlishments: Crews burned 332 acres in Number 2 Canyon on 4/1/24.
  • Accomplishments:  Crews burned 100 acres in Number 2 Canyon on 4/2/24.

March 25-29, 2024:  No prescribed burning will be occurring this week.

March 20, 2024:  Chelan Ranger District crews will burn 75 acres at Bear Mountain today. No more burning will be occurring this week on the Entiat Ranger District.  Read more

  • Accomplishments:  Crews burned 75 acres at Bear Mountain.

March 19, 2024:  Chelan Ranger District personnel will burn 100 acres at Bear Mountain, 8 miles west of Chelan, WA. Entiat Ranger District crews will be burning 200 acres in the Mud Creek area, approx. 10 miles north of Entiat, WA on March 19, and 200 more acres there on March 20 depending upon weather conditions.

  • Accomplishments:  Crews burned 50 acres at Bear Mountain and 200 acres at Mud Creek.

March 18, 2024:  Chelan Ranger District personnel will be igniting 49 acres in the Bear Mountain area, located 8 miles west of Chelan, WA.

  • Conditions were not conducive for burning at Bear Mountain on March 18. Read more

March 11, 2024:  No burning today. If weather conditions allow, burning may occur on the Entiat District this week. 

March 7-8, 2024:  Prescribed burning operations info. updated.

  • March 7 & 8--Chelan Ranger District crews will be igniting 50 acres each day in the Bear Mountain area, located 8 miles west of Chelan, WA.  Smoke from this burn will be visible from Chelan, Manson, and Hwy 97A. Read more.

    • Accomplishment:  Crews burned 15 acres at Bear Mtn.

  • March 7 & 8-- Entiat Ranger District crews will ignite 50 acres in the FJ 1065 Underburn Unit in the Mud Creek area, located 10 miles north of Entiat, WA on March 7. Crews will burn 100 acres in this unit on March 8. Snow still covers half of the unit which will be burned later.
    • Accomplishment:  150 acres total were burned

Week of February 26-March 1, 2024:  No prescribed burning is planned.

All prescribed burns are dependent upon weather conditions; burning will not occur if conditions are not favorable.  The right conditions for prescribed fire include correct temperature, wind, fuel moisture, and ventilation for smoke. When these criteria are met, firefighters implement, monitor, and patrol each burn to ensure it meets forest health and public safety objectives while following air quality standards.

Prescribed burns help restore healthy and resilient forests by reducing the quantity of burnable fuels that would potentially feed wildfires. These burns also help recycle nutrients back into the soil, promote growth of fire adapted and native vegetation, better protect nearby communities, and help reduce the risk and intensity of future wildfires.