Smokejumpers landing at the Solomon Fire. Photo by BLM

It’s another Bureau of Land Management (BLM) briefing! As always, we strive to be a good neighbor in the communities we serve. Part of that effort means keeping you up to date on what’s happening with the agency and your public lands. Here’s the latest:

Fire season continues 

Several new fires popped up across Harney County on Monday, September 2. Most were handled at only a few acres, but two exploded quickly and gave firefighters a brief run for their money. 

The Solomon Fire, located in Solomon Canyon on south Steens Mountain, eventually grew to just over 2,600 acres. The Sagehen Fire started about four miles northeast of Sagehen Rest Area and reached 6,249 acres before stopping. Both incidents received loads of air support with tankers and helicopters. Equal effort from the ground with dozers, engines, crews and smokejumpers rounded out a solid suppression force that wrapped these incidents in just three days. 

Don’t be fooled by intermittent cooling and light rains. Extreme fire danger still exists! Be safe, be smart, and always carry a means for suppression should a fire start in your vicinity. Follow Burns Interagency Fire Zone on Facebook for more information.

Smokey Bear out and about 

Smokey Bear took a short break from fighting fire to celebrate his 80th birthday at the 100th Harney County Fair & Rodeo. Cards, cupcakes, songs, high-fives, kids and hugs made for a lot of fun. Smokey shared loads of fire prevention information and even cruised the fair parade atop Burns Interagency Fire Zone’s Engine 426. Did you see him out and about? We are proud to contribute to community events like this. Look for us!

Steens Loop Road rockfall repair

The 2023 rockfall area on the Steens Mountain Loop Road is finally getting fixed! This week, a geotechnical repair crew will be stabilizing the fall area with several techniques, including rock scaling: controlled removal of loose and potentially unstable, disjointed rocks from the source. Since rock scaling could send dangerous boulders and other debris downslope and into Big Indian Canyon, Big Indian Trail is closed for the duration of the work.

We expect repairs to take no more than one week. Immediately after, Big Indian Trail and the entire Loop Road will be open again for continuous travel – until the snow flies! Keep up with the status of the Loop Road on Oregon Department of Transportation’s TripCheck website at tripcheck.com.

Celebrating National Public Lands Day

 We’re gearing up to celebrate National Public Lands Day with more restoration work on the Fred Riddle Trail on Steens Mountain. Oregon Natural Desert Association volunteers are lined up to support the project alongside agency staff. Together, they plan to continue where they left off in 2023 and get more of the Fred Riddle Trail accessible and available for regular use. This trail provides an important connection from South Steens Campground to the Cold Springs Road by creating safe loop opportunities for hikers. 

National Public Lands Day started in 1979 and is the nation’s largest, single-day volunteer event for public lands.

For more information about what’s happening on your public lands, call the BLM at (541) 573-4400.