(Update: Adding video) SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Department of Forestry filled an order Wednesday to send 11 more firefighters to North Carolina to help them battle wildfires raging in the state. That brings the total number of ODF firefighters in North Carolina to 37, not including two agency representatives. The 11 firefighters being
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon Department of Forestry filled an order over the weekend and sent 26 firefighters and two agency representatives to North Carolina to assist in fighting numerous wildfires raging in the state. Many of the firefighters arrived in the state on Sunday and are assigned to the Black Cove incident in
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By Alma McCarty (KGW), Amy-Xiaoshi DePaola, KGW SANTIAM JUNCTION, Ore. (KGW) — Investigators found no evidence of power line ignitions causing the deadly and destructive 2020 Labor Day fires in Santiam Canyon, according to a recent Oregon Department of Forestry report. The fires killed five people and destroyed thousands of homes. ODF investigators found that although downed power
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — There are robots in the woods just outside of Bend, and you might have even seen them while you’re driving down Highway 97. Bend Fire needs to clear an area along the highway and railroad tracks near Deschutes River Woods, and it’s using that area to test a new program with some
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(Update: Added video) BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Work begins next week to reduce wildfire risk by removing flammable vegetation on ODOT and railroad property in the Deschutes River Woods community, Bend Fire & Rescue officials said Friday. The Deschutes River Woods Wildfire Fuels Mitigation Project is part of a three-year Oregon State Fire Marshal Community
Continue ReadingWMBF, CNN By Karina Tsui, Lauren Mascarenhas, Chris Boyette and Meteorologist Gene Norman, CNN (CNN) — Even as conditions improved, heavy smoke persisted Monday across the Carolinas as firefighters battle wildfires scorching parts of the region. “There is heavy, low-hanging smoke blanketed across the area this morning,” South Carolina’s Horry County Fire Rescue said in
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)– The Problem Solvers were the first to bring you homeowners’ concerns about the state’s wildfire hazard map last June. La Pine residents tell us they saw a major increase in their homeowners’ insurance following the Darlene 3 Fire. “We’re all getting the maps, and so we should all be concerned about the
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WASHINGTON (KTVZ) — Senator Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, said Friday he has joined Senate colleagues to reintroduce legislation that would make a $60 billion investment in forests in Oregon and across the West to lessen wildfire risk, restore watersheds, protect communities, and reduce wildfire suppression costs. Here’s the senator’s news release, in full: “With summers getting
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Deschutes County commissioners returned to the heated controversy over the state’s revised wildfire hazard map Monday afternoon and after more debate voted 2-1 to file an appeal with the state on behalf of the owners of all 21,000 properties in the county designated at high risk from wildfire.
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Democratic state Senator Anthony Broadman of Bend on Thursday joined a recent call by Republican lawmakers to repeal the state’s revised wildfire hazard map, saying it doesn’t “create an equitable system” or account for variance among properties. Rep. Emerson Levy, D-Bend, told KTVZ News she also supports its repeal.
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By Jacob Soboroff, NBC News SKAMANIA COUNTY, Wash. (NBC) — A freeze on the hiring and onboarding of thousands of federal firefighters could have deadly consequences as the national wildfire response operates at a “diminished capacity,” a federal firefighting captain told NBC News. The federal hiring freeze ordered last month by President Donald Trump will hinder the U.S.
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A full house of worried Deschutes County residents showed up Wednesday as county commissioners discussed the state’s recently revised wildfire hazard map, as many residents shared their objections and concerns about the wide-ranging impacts. But in the end, commissioners could not reach agreement on a joint message to the governor and lawmakers.
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MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, in a collaborative effort with the Jefferson County Fire Chiefs, is offering private landowners the opportunity to apply for funding to minimize fire danger as outlined in the Jefferson County Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Eligible residents will be offered a flat-rate reimbursement of $599.99 for treating
Continue Reading Nearly four years ago, in the aftermath of the state’s most destructive wildfires in history, the Oregon Legislature passed a bipartisan package of wildfire prevention initiatives, including one that required state experts to create a map showing high wildfire risk areas statewide.
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — If a major obstacle to clearing defensible space in your neighborhood is the cost of renting a large bin and disposing of all that removed fire fuel, Deschutes County is offering to foot the bill. The county’s Natural Resources Department said Monday it is accepting applications for the 2025 Sweat Equity
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ)– Due to the recent extended drying pattern and east winds in the forecast this weekend, the Oregon Department of Forestry is encouraging anyone who may have completed a debris or slash burn in the past few months to monitor and patrol the burn site. Embers can smolder beneath the surface, even in
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon Department of Forestry is welcoming back 70 firefighters on six strike teams who have been assigned to the fires in California’s Los Angeles County for the past two weeks. While in California, the strike teams were split between the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire. “We’re happy to help
Continue ReadingBy Andy Rose, Holly Yan and Karina Tsui, CNN (CNN) — With parts of Los Angeles County still smoldering from wildfires and new blazes flaring up earlier this week, expected rainfall this weekend would seem like a welcome relief. But how the rain falls could make the difference between a disaster respite or a disaster
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(Update: adding video from 4PM broadcast) SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Following a two-week mobilization to Southern California to assist with the wildfire response, 17 of Oregon’s 21 strike teams will be heading home soon, the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office said Thursday. The teams began the demobilization process Thursday morning. Two of the strike teams
Continue ReadingBy Holly Yan, Amanda Musa and Hanna Park, CNN (CNN) — Exhausted firefighters battling deadly infernos for weeks are now grappling with more wildfires scorching Los Angeles County – including the Hughes Fire, which has burned through more than 10,000 acres since it began less than 48 hours ago. As of Thursday evening, the inferno
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