Two Sisters firefighters among 22 Oregon has sent to help battle blazes in Alberta, Canada, other U.S. states
Barney Lerten
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon Department of Forestry on Friday deployed 14 firefighters to Alberta, Canada, four to Alaska, three to Minnesota and one to Florida to help fight wildfires.
“With fire season beginning in some parts of the state, this will be the agency’s last big out-of-state resource push until the rainy fall returns in Oregon,” ODF said in their announcement.
ODF Public Affairs Officer Jessica Neujahr told KTVZ News that the two firefighters going to Alaska, Ben Duda and Eric Metzger, are from Sisters, while some of the others are from John Day and Fossil.
Those being deployed to Alberta and Alaska are going through the Northwest Compact, which is a mutual assistance agreement among six states and five NW Canadian provinces and territories. Those deployed to Minnesota and Florida are going through state-to-state mutual aid agreements.
Both agreements are in place for organizations to easily share resources with one another, creating a larger and more comprehensive fire management system.
“These agreements help bolster Oregon’s 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.
When wildfire activity is low in Oregon, firefighters can be spared to help in places experiencing high levels of wildfire. This two-week rotation with our partners is our firefighters’ chance to enhance existing skills, learn new ones, and build on long-standing relationships.
“Know that we don’t share these resources without appropriate vetting. 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,” said Curran.
Oregon can and has called on its out-of-state partners to send resources when wildfires here exceeded our local and state response capacity, most recently in 2024 when ODF received firefighters and equipment from about 21 states, provinces and territories.