Oregon Sends Firefighters to North Carolina to Assist with Wildfires

Salem, Oregon- The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) has deployed 26 firefighters and two agency representatives to North Carolina to assist with multiple wildfires. Most of the firefighters arrived on March 23 and have been assigned to the Black Cove incident in western North Carolina.

The deployment, which will last two weeks, is part of a mutual assistance agreement between the two states. In 2024, North Carolina provided significant support to Oregon by sending nearly an entire incident management team along with several overhead positions during a period of high wildfire activity.

“Being able to have an additional incident management team (IMT) made it so we did not have to make the hard choice of prioritizing one fire over another,” said Blake Ellis, ODF Fire Operations Manager. “At the time, we had two fires in need of an IMT and only one ODF team available. We were able to fill both incidents’ needs due to the extra support from our North Carolina partners.”

The mutual assistance agreements allow states to share resources when wildfire activity is low in one state but high in another. Oregon has benefited from similar agreements in the past, including in 2024 when ODF received firefighters and equipment from approximately 21 states, provinces, and territories.

“These agreements help bolster the complete and coordinated fire protection system and create a cache of reciprocal resources for all of us to call on when needed,” said Michael Curran, ODF’s Fire Protection Division Chief.

Oregon participates in mutual assistance agreements with several states and territories, including Alaska, Hawaii, and the Northwest Canadian territories. The agreements allow states to build a larger, more responsive fire management system.

“Know that we don’t share these resources without appropriate vetting,” Curran said. “Before committing to any out-of-state deployment, we make sure that our own fire management system is still adequately staffed and ready to respond to fires here in Oregon. Serving Oregonians is our first and primary priority.”