Photo By Maj. Leslie Reed | Oregon Army National Guard Sgt. Maj. Jason Becker (R), 1st Squadron, 82nd Cavalry...... read more read more
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SALEM, Ore. - For nearly 60-days, the Oregon National Guard has worked to support wildland fire crews in multiple capacities across the state. Whether assisting with medical evacuation capabilities, water buckets or hand crews, more than 200 Soldiers and Airmen answered the call to state active duty.
Under Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s emergency declaration, executive order 24-13, on July 12, 2024, coupled with the agreed directives in the state’s Operations Plan (OPLAN) Smokey, together with the state’s Operations Plan (OPLAN) Smokey, the Oregon Department of Forestry requested the Guard to support regional fire suppression efforts beginning on July 17, 2024.
Guard members were placed in a State Active Duty status for the duration of each of the Oregon Emergency Response System missions and were utilized in what’s known as a “last in, first out” basis supporting the Oregon Department of Forestry, U.S. Forest Service and other wildland fire teams.
For Oregon Army National Guard Spc. John Canche, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Squadron, this summer was his first wildland fire support experience.
Recalling what he learned the first week on the Telephone Fire, near Burns, Canche spent his days “chipping, hot spot gridding, and taking classes from the medics,” soaking up information that later “helped us for the next week on the Diamond Complex,” near Chemult.
Canche remembers, “The day we found out we were moving, they were like ‘we know there are rumors of us going home early,’ but we just got called up to go on another fire and we’re going to do it.”
Despite the move from the Telephone Fire to the Diamond Complex, “we wanted to do more,” Canche said, “we were excited. We wanted to have a bigger impact. Crew Six was really gung-ho even though the days were long, chipping for hours on end, but everyone did the work and we gave it our best effort.”
Oregon Air National Guard Senior Airman Adriana Scott, with the 173rd Fighter Wing, who was camping in the Italian Alps was told, “I needed to be back in a few days, might as well make some money” she says laughing. “I did a one-way ticket out, but I would rather be here (fighting fire).”
In her third year of supporting wildland fire, Scott says “it’s probably my favorite time of the year, I enjoy it a lot.” Her fire team in late August was composed of both Airmen and Soldiers who were “individuals who decided and volunteered to stay on after their initial 14-day period.”
Scott explains that after three years of working on wildland fires, as a member of the Oregon Guard, you know what to expect and you have to be flexible because things can change every day. “That’s why Guard Members are fairly good at doing this job.”
One thing, Canche wasn’t expecting was waking up to a light snow dusting one morning, but he was prepared and had enough gear to stay warm.
Scott echoes this sentiment, “Bring warm clothes. It’s important to get sleep. Shifts are physical and long” she said.
Not dissuaded, Canche said he’ll be back. “Oh yeah, in a heartbeat. I’m going to do it next year, if they call me up, I will say yes, and definitely bring a lot of socks,” he laughs.
Oregon Army National Guard aviators, who were initially the first Oregon Guard asset called up, were also busy dropping more than 227,000 gallons of water in support of wildland firefighting efforts across the state and simultaneously providing critical medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) support. Stationed forward from their usual homes in Pendleton and Salem, both CH-47 Chinooks and HH-60M Black Hawks jumped from John Day to Redmond, and Roseburg.
While Oregon Guard handcrew teams and aviation crews supporting water bucket missions were released in waves starting in mid to late August, one remaining HH-60M Black Hawk MEDEVAC crew remained on duty through September 3rd in Redmond.
Black Hawk crews also supported a number of non-fire related medical evacuations during the wildland fire season helping injured hikers, bikers and climbers in coordination with the Deschutes and Linn County sheriff offices.
As of Sept. 8, 2024, more than 128 active fires dotted the state with more than 1.3 million acres burned across Oregon.
| Date Taken: | 09.08.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.10.2024 19:55 |
| Story ID: | 480544 |
| Location: | SALEM, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 347 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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