SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon State Fire Marshal and the Oregon Department of Forestry are bringing in out-of-state firefighters and equipment to fight several wildfires impacting communities and resources across the state.
On Sunday night, the Oregon State Fire Marshal mobilized two task forces from Washington to add structural firefighter capacity. The two task forces are from Snohomish, Thurston, and Grays Harbor counties with 29 firefighters, eight engines, and two water tenders. The task forces are assigned to the Falls Fire in Harney County.
“We are bringing in additional support from the Washington fire service for the Falls Fire, the severe drawdown of Oregon resources, and the anticipated weather conditions,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “Our strong relationship with the Washington fire service is invaluable, especially during their responses to Oregon in 2017 and 2020. We have a robust response system that transcends borders and supports our mutual missions. I can’t thank the Washington fire service enough for their quick and reliable response to Oregon’s needs.”
The OSFM works with the Oregon Department of Emergency Management to mobilize these resources through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a national interstate mutual aid agreement that allows states to share resources during times of disaster.
The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) has received more than 58 resources from New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, Colorado, and Florida to assist in the Salt Creek and Larch Creek Fire. The agency will receive 13 more firefighters from Florida in the coming days to assist the agency’s Incident Management Team 3 and other severity efforts.
A total of 71 resources are coming to Oregon through state-to-state mutual aid agreements and the Northwest Compact. The compact was created to facilitate assistance in wildland fire pre-suppression and suppression efforts between member agencies, which include Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon and Northwest Territories.
“These mutual aid agreements help to bolster the complete and coordinated fire system in Oregon by giving us the ability to scale up as needed during peak times in the season” said Chris Cline, ODF protection division chief. “We appreciate our partners for sending us these much-needed resources as we manage several fires across the state.”
By creating a cache of reciprocal resources through mutual aid agreements, Oregon and other agencies can benefit from each other when fire seasons hit hard and resources become strained.
“This isn’t my first time to Oregon. It is always an honor to help our neighbors when they are in need. Oregon has come to help us several times in the past,” Task Force Leader Travis Hots said. “We are no stranger to how Oregon does business and are always impressed with how the Oregon State Fire Marshal treats its firefighters, so we are always glad to come down and offer a helping hand.”
On Friday, the Governor Tina Kotek issued a State of Emergency that allows the two agencies to request additional help from both in- and out-of-state partners.
With hot, dry, and windy conditions coupled with lightning in the forecast, Oregonians should take every precaution to avoid sparking a fire. Learn how to be #WildfireAware here. Look up your local fire restrictions at https://www.oregon.gov/odf/