Controlled burns clear thousands of acres of National Forest underbrush

Near Ruch, Ore — It may not be fire season just yet but preparations for the summer are well underway.

Years of planning go into controlled burns in the Rogue-River Siskiyou National Forest.

Scaling snow and steep terrain fire, crews were out burning 133 acres of year-old brush piles as part of the upper Applegate Road project.

That project will eventually clear nearly 3,500 acres of National Forest in the Applegate.

“There’s structures and houses and in the big picture of a fire, doing fuels reductions helps prevents a high severity fire and it’s easier to suppress when we do have a fire in the wrong time of year,” said Fire Suppression Manager David Ernst.

Fire officials say they time the burns to come before rain or snow to keep smoke levels down and control the fires before the drier summer months.

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Matt Jordan is the Chief Meteorologist for KOBI-TV NBC5. Matt joined the NBC5 weather team in 2014 after a year as a reporter and anchor in Alexandria, Louisiana. His experience with the severe weather of the Deep South and a love of the Pacific Northwest led him to pursue a certification with Mississippi State University as a Broadcast Meteorologist. You can find Matt working in the evenings of NBC5 News at 5, 6 and 11 as well as online. Matt also has a degree in Journalism from the University of Oregon. In addition to being passionate about news and weather, Matt is a BIG Oregon Ducks fan. When not rooting for the Ducks or tracking down the next storm over the Pacific, Matt can be found outdoors in the Oregon wilderness with his wife, his daughter and their dogs Stanley and Gordi.
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