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Fifteen crews of Oregon firefighters traveled to California on Sunday to help fight two of the 13 wildfires currently active in the state.
A release from the Oregon State Fire Marshal says that 271 firefighters from 15 Oregon counties were deployed to help fight the 66,231-acre Kincade Fire in Sonoma and the 350-acre Burris Fire in Mendocino County.
Today 15 strike teams, with nearly 300 personnel from the Oregon fire service, are deploying to assist with the response to California wildfires. Strike Team members from Eugene Springfield Fire, shown during deployment, will assemble in Redding, CA later today. @cityofeugene pic.twitter.com/pFYYFiTAAQ
— Oregon OSFM (@OSFM) October 27, 2019
22 of those firefighters are part of the Multnomah County Strike Team, a spokesperson tells WW.
Dry, windy weather has turned California into a tinder box. Fires near Los Angeles have prompted over 10,000 evacuations. And in Northern California, the Kincaid Fire has evacuated nearly 180,000 people and destroyed over 96 structures.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the weekend.
This is the third year in a row that Oregon firefighting crews have responded to emergencies in California.