Oregon firefighters helping battle 2 N. Calif. blazes
Nearly 300 Oregon firefighters mobilized by the Office of State Fire Marshal to join firefighting efforts in Northern California went to work Monday, the day after their arrival.
Six strike teams, represented by Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple, of the OFSM, sent to the 350-acre Burris Fire in Mendocino County, received their assignments Monday morning. Five of the teams are working to secure lines and mop up the Burris Fire, and one team was assigned to respond to a new incident called the Twin Fire.
Nine strike teams, represented by Assistant Chief Les Hallman of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, responded to the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County. As of Monday morning, the 66,231-acre fire had forced the evacuation of about 180,000 people. The Oregon crews were assigned Monday to support efforts to mitigate structure threats and construct control lines.
“It’s very humbling to be a part of a large scale mobilization of resources and see how quickly Oregon can respond in a time of need,” said State Fire Marshal Jim Walker. “To assemble 75 fire engines and 271 firefighters in a matter of hours to respond to our neighbors in need is extraordinary.
“I appreciate the more than 60 fire agencies that answered the call, the work of our OSFM staff and Office of Emergency Management in assembling the response, and Chief Hallman of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue and Chief Ruiz-Temple of OSFM in providing support for our firefighters while deployed to California. I truly appreciate all that you do.”
The deployment of the Oregon strike teamscould last as long as 16 days, officials said
