The La Nina weather pattern has delayed the onset of wildfire season in the Pacific Northwest, but Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) firefighters are seeing plenty of action elsewhere. Eighty-four “overhead” – specially trained fire management personnel – are assisting suppression efforts in five states.
The deployments are enabling Oregon fire personnel to gain fire line experience and keep up their national firefighting qualifications.
ODF incurs no financial drain from assisting other states, since the jurisdictional agency hosting a fire suppression operation pays the bills.
As Oregon enters summer weather conditions, ODF’s fire managers will pull back their personnel from the out-of-state assignments to be ready for wildfires at home. While fire activity typically picks up around the Fourth of July, forecasters predict a delay of a month or more this summer.