Fuels specialists with the Prineville Bureau of Land Management are anticipating being able to burn15 acres of piles at the BLM Beach next week.

The BLM Beach is a campground on the south short of the Metolius arm of Lake Billy Chinook, east of the Three Rivers Recreation Area.

The material is leftover from a thinning project to reduce the risk of wildfire moving from BLM lands to private lands.

The Three Rivers area lost 18 homes in the catastrophic 2002 Eyerly Fire.

Smoke will be visible to local residents and boaters on the lake; no road closures are expected.  Burning should take only one day, depending on weather conditions.