All this week, about 55 men and women new to wildland firefighting have been learning and training in Central Oregon.  Thursday, they are putting their skills and classroom knowledge to the test in a live burn near Sisters.

Guard School spokesperson Heather Fisher says the burn will be about 5 miles north of town.  "So when they show up on scene they go through the whole incident from beginning to end. They'll show up look at the fire; assess the situation, determine what tactics to use and then decide how to suppress the fire and make sure its out."  The training exercise is also a prescribed burn.  It will start around noon and last about 2 hours.  At some times people on Highway 20 and Tollgate and Cascade Meadows subdivisions may be able to see smoke from the "live burn."