Salem, Ore. – In support of Oregon’s wildland firefighters on National Wildland Firefighter Day, Governor Tina Kotek has issued a proclamation declaring July 2, 2025, Wildland Firefighter Day in the state of Oregon.
“In a state with such prevalent wildfire, we are so thankful to the firefighters, dispatchers and support personnel who work long hours, day after day, protecting our communities and natural resources. And we remember those that have fallen in the line of service,” Michael Curran, the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Fire Protection Division Chief, said.
The Oregon Department of Forestry would like to thank the thousands of local, state, tribal, federal, and contract firefighters, along with all the dispatchers, map creators, IT specialists, equipment operators, radio technicians, prevention specialists, and everyone else who has a role in Oregon’s wildfire response.
Wildland Firefighter Day occurs every year during the Wildland Firefighter Week of Remembrance (June 30-July 6). The Week of Remembrance was established in 2014 and is bookended by the dates of two significant tragedies in the wildland firefighter community: Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona on June 30, 2013, and the South Canyon fire in Colorado on July 6, 1994. On the Yarnell Hill fire, 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed when a weather shift intensified the fire and cut off the firefighters’ escape route. On the South Canyon fire, 14 wildland firefighters were killed on Storm King Mountain when they were entrapped by spot fires. This week honors those lost in the line of duty while also focusing on improving wildland firefighter safety to mitigate risk as best we can in an inherently dangerous career field.