‘It’s a very rewarding job’: C.O. contract firefighters head out on the front lines of Oregon wildfires

(Update: Adding video, comments by PatRick representative)

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Redmond-based contract firefighting firm PatRick Environmental is, as you might expect, very busy this early, ramped-up fire season, contracting local firefighters to send across the state. Over 300 of their firefighters are battling wildfires across the region.

The company has been a firefighting contractor based in Central Oregon for close to a half-century.

As of Wednesday afternoon, seven large fires were burning in the state of Oregon, spreading many agencies' resources thin. PatRick Environmental crews work with federal and state firefighters as the first line of defense.

There's no strain on crews right now, but the company predicts that will change later on in the season.

"Fatigue sets in with some people, and later in September, a lot of our firefighters will go back to school and do other jobs," said Joel Dice, who works in human resources with Patrick. "And that can put pressure sometimes on the firefighters. They're out there and keeping the resources on the fire."

According to Dice, this fire season is different. The 10-year average for burned acres in the state is 3 million.

"Today we're actually looking at, you know, a similar number of fires, as far as ignitions and fires around the country," Dice said. "But the acres burned are way down from the 10-year average, which is really good news. And we contribute that a lot to sort of a wet spring and extended winter that we had this year."