**May 19, 2025: The planned prescribed burn at the Metolius Preserve was successful! Crews will continue to work on mop up and ensuring the area is safe in the coming weeks. The North Trailhead at the Metolius Preserve is currently open, but you may encounter burn crews and/or engines in the area. For your safety and to help the forest recover, please stay on trails.**

The Land Trust plans to conduct a prescribed burn on May 15, 2025 at our Metolius Preserve. Prescribed burning is the next step in our 2023 forest restoration effort to help reduce wildfire danger at our Preserve and for our neighbors, while also helping mimic historic forest conditions and improving habitat for wildlife.

The prescribed burn will be completed in conjunction with our partners at the Oregon Department of Forestry, Deschutes National Forest/Sisters Ranger District and The Nature Conservancy. The burn will occur in the northern section of the Preserve where we completed a mowing operation in 2023. The Preserve will remain open during the burn period, but we recommend staying off the Lake Creek Trail and other trails in the northern section of the Preserve due to smoke and burn impacts. See a map of the burn area.

The prescribed burn is currently planned for early-mid May as conditions permit. The burn is weather dependent and will be completed in consultation with the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) and in compliance with ODF’s smoke management plan. We will postpone burning if weather conditions are unfavorable. To learn more:

• Watch the Land Trust’s Instagram and Facebook pages for updates as we get closer to the burn window, and for burn day updates.
• Join us for a Post-Burn Tour. If we are successful in burning, tour the burn area with Land Trust staff and learn about how fire helps our forests thrive: June 6, 2025 from 2-4pm.

Dig deeper:

• About our Prescribed Burning Goals
• Metolius Preserve Forest Restoration
• East Cascade Dry Forests and their historic conditions