The City of Coos Bay and the Coos Bay North Bend Water Board own and manage timber land within the Pony Creek Watershed. After a unit is logged, there is leftover wood residue and slash. It is a recommended practice to use burning to dispose of this material to abate fire hazards. Because of weather and wind conditions, this activity is heavily regulated by the Coos Forest Patrol. In the past, the slash piles were all burned on the same day. This year, the Coos Fire Patrol is requiring a different approach that involves burning a small percentage of the piles and assessing the smoke impact. If the smoke is manageable, they will increase the number of piles on subsequent days. The city plans to perform slash burning during the week of January 27th. There may be several days where there is noticeable smoke in and around the city limits. Any questions can be directed to the City of Coos Bay Public Works Department at (541) 269-8918.
