Oregon fire marshal calls in three Washington task forces to prep for high fire danger
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – To boost capacity ahead of forecasted east winds and heightened wildfire conditions, the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal has ordered three Washington task forces from Snohomish, King, Pierce, Kitsap, Chelan, and Clark counties through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC).
Of the Washington task forces, one is assigned to the Double Creek Fire in Northeast Oregon. Two task forces will be pre-positioned in Wasco and Lane counties. These added resources will give the Oregon Fire Mutual Aid System added capacity to respond quickly should a fire happen and support local fire agencies.
“We want to thank the Oregon fire service and our partners from Washington for their dedication to protecting Oregon communities,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “This extra capacity will allow our office to be nimble and help local fire agencies during this critical point in the fire season. We ask those who live in Oregon and those visiting to be aware of the dry conditions and take the necessary steps to prevent sparking a wildfire.”
Currently, the OSFM has an incident management team and 11 task forces assigned to the Double Creek Fire and Sturgill Fire in Northeast Oregon. Two strike teams were mobilized on Wednesday to support the Van Meter fire in Klamath County.
ABOUT RESPONSE READY OREGON
The OSFM’s Response Ready Oregon initiative was created to help bolster capacity and modernize wildfire response within the Oregon Fire Mutual Aid System (OFMAS). The goal of Response Ready Oregon is to attack fires while they are small and keep them away from communities. To learn more about the OSFM, OFMAS, or Response Ready Oregon, visit oregon.gov/osp/programs/sfm.
