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| Above: Oregon National Guard members like these in 2017 receive training in wildland firefighting and safety before being sent to help at Oregon wildfires. |
SALEM,
Ore. – An additional 147 members of the Oregon National Guard and Air National Guard later this week will join firefighting efforts at the Graves Creek Fire, part of the Garner Complex in
southwest Oregon.
The Oregon National Guard and Air National Guard members have already been trained thanks to federal funding through
Oregon’s congressional delegation.
“Our Oregon National Guardsmen consider it an honor to serve their state in
its time of need and assist our partners in fighting wildfires,” said Chris
Ingersoll, spokesman for the Oregon National Guard.
Gov. Kate Brown’s Proclamation of State of Emergency Due to Imminent Threat
of Wildfire paved the way for the National Guard to make members
available to help in what is already an extreme fire season.
“We appreciate the Oregon National Guard and Gov. Brown for this much-needed
added capacity. Our long standing partnership has, once again, proven its
value at a time of high demand for firefighting resources in Oregon and nationally,”
said Nancy Hirsch, deputy state forester for the Oregon Department of Forestry.