Oregon National Guard leaders visit Grasshopper Fire camp, thank troops aiding response

OREGON (KTVZ) -- Senior Oregon National Guard leaders traveled to the Grasshopper Fire camp near Tygh Valley today to visit Air National Guard members supporting wildland firefighting operations and thank them for their service.

The Grasshopper Fire has burned more than 90,000 acres and was 47% contained as of yesterday. The fire camp supporting response efforts has grown to approximately 1,800 personnel, with about 1,550 directly engaged in firefighting operations.

The leadership delegation flew from Salem aboard an HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter operated by Golf Company, 1st Battalion, 189th Aviation.

Brig. Gen. Alan Gronewold, Oregon's adjutant general, led the visit alongside Brig. Gen. Jenifer E. Pardy, director of the Joint Staff; Chief Warrant Officer 5 Lenora Landwehr, command chief warrant officer; Chaplain (Col.) Jacob Scott, state chaplain; and Chief Master Sgt. Brent Cavanias, command senior enlisted leader. Jonna Papaefthimiou, resilience officer for Gov. Tina Kotek's office, also joined the visit on the governor's behalf.

“This is a big deal for Oregonians, big deal for the Guard, to go out and see National Guardsmen out fighting fire, doing what we're trained to do,” Gronewold said. “What we're here to do is protect Oregonians and their property and you guys are doing that.”

Among the deployed personnel are Senior Airman Colby Shoals and Senior Airman Connor Carlson, both members of the 270th Air Traffic Control Squadron, nicknamed “Chaos,” out of the 173rd Fighter Wing. Carlson said the crew has taken on demanding physical duties along the fire line.

“We've been able to pick up a lot of those heavier tasks, like carrying a bladder pack on us, so we can do that wet mop-up where it's easier rather than doing dry mop-up,” Carlson said.

Shoals noted that the strenuous work fits naturally into their typical unit routines and field training.

“It's right up our alley,” Shoals said. “What we do day to day at the base, we're already working together out in the field, so it's pretty much another day on the job for us.” He added that unit cohesion plays a central role during fire response duties.

“Everybody's like a big family there, so everybody has each other's backs,” Shoals said. “If somebody looks like they're not doing so well or getting a little tired, everybody's checking on each other.”