Oregon Forestry Department Sends Firefighters to Help Fight North Carolina Wildfires

The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) reported that over the weekend it had filled an order to send 26 firefighters and two agency representatives to North Carolina to assist in fighting numerous wildfires in the state. Many of the firefighters arrived in the state on Sunday and are assigned to the Black Cove incident in western North Carolina.

ODF noted that the two-week rotation with its North Carolina partners is a chance to return the favor. In 2024, North Carolina sent almost a whole incident management team along with several overhead positions in support of Oregon. The added capacity allowed some resource flexibility to ODF in a time when people and equipment were limited.

The firefighters were sent to North Carolina under mutual assistance agreements between the two states. When wildfire activity is low in Oregon, firefighters can be spared to help in places experiencing high levels of wildfire.

Oregon can and has called on its out-of-state partners to send resources when wildfire here exceeded its local and state capacity, most recently in 2024 when ODF received firefighters and equipment from about 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,” Michael Curran, ODF’s Fire Protection Division Chief, said.