Oregon invites volunteers with heavy equipment to join ‘armada’ fighting wildfires

14 September 2020

Published by https://kval.com/

USA – EUGENE, Ore. – The smoke inversion grounded helicopters and air tankers for the first week of the fight against the Holiday Farm and Archie Creek fires in Lane and Douglas counties.

Wildland fire crews and equipment are in short supply in Oregon – and across the West.

But firefighters have made progress on both fires thanks to private timberland owners and heavy equipment operators.

Doug Grafe, chief of fire protection for the Oregon Department of Forestry, said an “armada” of private equipment on the Holiday has been “absolutely instrumental in that firefight and making tremendous progress.”

They could use more help.

“Thank you for your interest and dedication in supporting the wildland fire fighting efforts in our great state of Oregon,” state forestry says on its website. “We appreciate the outpouring of resource assistance support that has been offered by the residents of Oregon communities, as well as national and international assistance offers during this unprecedented fire season.”

If you have heavy equipment capable of helping fight fire, you can learn more about how you can help on the Oregon Department of Forestry website.