Deschutes Land Trust:
Before: Whychus Canyon Preserve, 2011. Note the mixed pine and juniper density on the slope in the background.
Deschutes Land Trust:
After: 2012. Junipers thinned from slope in background of photo.
Deschutes Land Trust:
Crews start to light juniper slash piles on steep canyon slope.
Deschutes Land Trust:
We started lighting piles early in the morning.
Deschutes Land Trust:
The long view.
Deschutes Land Trust:
Smoky canyon slopes. We burned on days when the breeze was blowing the smoke away from neighboring homes.
Deschutes Land Trust:
And we burned the piles when there was sufficient soil moisture to prevent significant flame spread.
Deschutes Land Trust:
Pile up close.
Deschutes Land Trust:
When piles first ignite, they send smoke into the air.
Deschutes Land Trust:
Some of the piles continued to burn into the night.
Deschutes Land Trust:
This was an old hollow snag that caught on fire from a nearby burn pile. After this photo was taken, the snag fell and burned out.
Deschutes Land Trust:
some fire got into old logs on the ground and burned along their lengths. New grasses and forbs will resprout here.
Deschutes Land Trust:
We checked and re-checked the piles for many days after the burn to be sure all the fires were completely out. These burn pile sites will be seeded with native plants later this year.