Three hundred Oregon firefighters, including dozens from Marion and Polk counties, are battling the Palisades Fire that has turned an idyllic Los Angeles neighborhood into an inferno.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office announced Friday morning that 15 strike teams of Oregon firefighters sent to aid in the fire had arrived safely.
Those deployed include 44 Marion County firefighters and 10 engines, as well as one team from Polk County.
They will work for up to two weeks, protecting homes and buildings and patrolling for hotspots, the fire marshal’s office said in a news release.
The Palisades Fire started Tuesday morning on the westside of Los Angeles and has rapidly spread amid high winds, torching more than 20,000 acres and many homes. It’s the largest of the five active fires burning in the Los Angeles area and was 8% contained as of Friday morning.
The fires have killed at least 10 people, forced more than 180,000 to evacuate, and destroyed more than 9,000 structures.
Four Salem firefighters — Captain Michael Stewart, and engineers Zach Salvage, Michael Laatsch and Cody Welling — deployed along with Keizer Fire District’s Captain Aaron Pittis, Lieutenant CJ Thorne, Engineer Casey Finnerty and firefighters Christopher Zammarelli and Brian Loan.
“We are in contact with our teams, and they are in good spirits,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said in a statement. “I am honored to work alongside the Oregon fire service who raised their hands to say they will go without question. This shows their commitment to jump into action no matter what, embodying the Oregon spirit.”
Another 70 Oregon wildland firefighters are also deployed to California, including three from the Santiam Unit based in Lyons. They are Engine Boss Trent Tegen and firefighters Cody Cone and Zach Rose.
Those firefighters as of Friday morning were awaiting vehicle inspections and assignments at the Sacramento Command Post, Oregon Department of Forestry spokeswoman Jessica Neujahr said. Other teams from southwest Oregon have been assigned to the Eaton Fire, she said.
The deployment is one of the largest out-of-state mutual aid efforts Oregon has supported, the fire marshal’s office said.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.