C. Oregon firefighters called to S. California

Fires continue to rip across Southern California and Central Oregon firefighters are on the way. The Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center in Prineville says the Prineville Hot Shots, a lead plane and a load of smoke jumpers have been requested.

“The rest of the smoke jumpers out of Redding (Calif.) have been deployed, and they needed more to back them up,” said Alex Robertson, deputy fire staff officer at COIDC.

The deployment comes as a new report shows an increase in wildfire potential for Oregon this summer.

“Things are drying up and getting hotter faster.” said Tracy Wrolson, with the Oregon Department of Forestry, adding that the agency “just stresses fire prevention.”

The new outlook shows the month of May will have strong wildland fire potential for south-central Oregon. By June, the threat increases for much of the southeastern part of the state.

It’s July and August that have experts worried. The report shows the strong potential for wildfire across much of the state.

As the weather continues to warm this weekend, dispatchers in Prineville will be on alert, watching and waiting to send crews to snuff out any fire.

“Just be very careful with fire,” Robertson asked residents. “Its going to be hotter than normal this weekend, and we need to make sure we’re not chasing fires on private or public grounds.”

To encourage Central Oregonians to clear debris and create defensible space around their homes, Project Wildfire is holding several FireFree recycling days.

For a full list of locations click here.