A 62-acre controlled field burn in Polk County south of Monmouth caused smoke to pour into the mid valley Friday afternoon, causing numerous complaints, and local residents flooded Corvallis police dispatch and the Corvallis Gazette-Time with calls.

The fescue-field burn took place late Friday morning, but by the lunch-hour, the smoke had caught a northerly wind and drifted south into the area, turning skies gray and causing some residents to stay indoors. Fescue is a type of grass commonly grown in the Willamette Valley.

According to John Byers, program manager at the Oregon Department of Agriculture, weather conditions this morning indicated that any smoke caused by the fire would drift west, toward the Coast Range and away from general population. However, after the fescue field was lit, a wind coming from the northeast pushed the smoke down the Highway 99W corridor and into Corvallis. The greenness of the fescue also contributed to the amount of smoke.

“It’s unfortunate and we are very sorry,” that the wind shifted and affected the Corvallis area, Byers said.

Farmers wishing to burn their fields must apply for a permit from the Oregon Department of Agriculture, and then must wait until the department approves the burn under good weather conditions.

“When we feel the weather is right … we issue a permit to burn,” Byers said. The farmer then has one hour within issuance of the permit to light the fire, to prevent conditions from changing.

“There’s not much advance warning,” he said.

There were other permitted field burns taking place south of Corvallis, but none of those was affecting the air quality within the city.

Byers expected the smoke to move south by 2 p.m. and said this field burn was the last to be lit in Polk County this year.

Anyone wishing to issue a burning complaint may do so by calling 1-503-986-4709.