In recent years, intense and devastating wildfires have left fire districts across the state struggling to manage them with limited resources.
Some rural districts, like Colton Rural District, are entirely reliant on volunteers.
Colton Fire Chief Todd Gary said the district, about 30 miles outside of Portland, dealt with the devastating effects of the 2020 Riverside Fire.
鈥淎 lot of the Riverside Fire was in the Colton Fire District, and our guys did an outstanding job here.鈥�
But Gary said having paid staff ready to jump into action could make all the difference. 鈥淭hat initial attack on those small fires and getting on them while they鈥檙e small is so important,鈥� Gary said. Now, first-of-its-kind funding of $6 million from the state will help understaffed, rural fire districts like Colton Fire pay for additional firefighters this fire season.
The Oregon Office of the State Fire Marshal that 180 of 306 local fire districts and departments across Oregon were awarded up to $35,000 to support staffing during this critical time of year.
Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple wrote in a statement, 鈥淎gencies will be able to have additional paid firefighters at the ready during these critical summer months. This will help to keep fires small and away from communities.鈥�
Funding for the staffing grant was made possible through , which was passed by state lawmakers in 2021. An official with the State Fire Marshal said the bill only covers funding for this year鈥檚 fire season.
鈥淭his is an opportunity that we鈥檝e never seen before,鈥� Gary said. 鈥�...I can鈥檛 say enough about what the state of Oregon and the fire marshal鈥檚 office has done to make this happen.鈥�
Out of 185 districts that applied for the grant funding, almost all of them were approved. Colton Fire District used the funds to hire two full-time firefighters to supplement the volunteer crew, who often work other jobs during normal business hours.
鈥淲e have two people here from 8-5 to be able to support this community. It鈥檚 an unbelievable opportunity for Colton,鈥� Gary said.
that Oregon could be in store for a difficult wildfire season because of a multi-year drought. And a national labor shortage has made staffing fire crews a challenge. Additionally, a wet spring has increased potential fire fuels, like grass.
Gary said the increased staffing will help rural areas respond to fire faster.
鈥淲e need to get on these fires immediately,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can keep them small and we don鈥檛 get those large fires like we had in 2020.鈥�
Gary said the funding has already paid off. A small fire broke out on Tuesday, and with the help of the new staff, the district was able to put it out.
鈥淚 think this is just a start on what we鈥檒l see in the future and it鈥檚 already made a difference for us,鈥� he said.
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