Around 200 British Columbian firefighters are off to Oregon to help with their devastating wildfires.

“Over 800 BC Wildfire Service personnel volunteered to go into someone else’s community and to someone else’s fire to do what they can to make sure people are safe,” said Premier John Horgan. “That is just extraordinary, and it speaks volumes about our compassion and our commitment to helping each other. I’m very proud of those individuals.”

The firefighters are being deployed to Redmond, Ore. and will be deployed as needed to assist with the dire wildfire situation. British Columbia is also in direct contact with Oregon and Washington about the potential to send an additional 200 personnel in the coming days and weeks.

“Here in British Columbia, we’ve been fortunate to have experienced a moderate wildfire season, but our neighbours to the south have not been so lucky,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural development. “B.C. firefighters who are willing to be deployed out of the country during this challenging time deserve a lot of credit for their professionalism.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BC firefighters will be doing what they can to remain socially distant from their American brethren while also being efficient at containing the fires. Costs for bringing in the firefighters will be covered by each American jurisdiction where they are needed, as well as the costs of quarantining the firefighters once they come back home.

The roles of the BC personnel in Oregon are as follows:

Initial attack crew:

* Initial attack firefighters operate as part of a three-person crew and are usually the first on scene of a new wildfire.

* Once there, the initial attack crew works quickly to set up water pumps, remove fuel from the fire’s path and dig fireguards to help control or extinguish the blaze.

Unit crew:

* A 20-person sustained-action “unit crew” typically works on large fires and can remain self-sufficient in the field for up to 72 hours at a time.

* Crew members receive extensive training and are knowledgeable about wildfire behaviour, fire management tactics and fireline equipment use.

Agency representative:

* The agency representative acts as link between deployed crews and the BC Wildfire Service.

Manager representative:

* A manager representative is the contact for personnel assigned to the incident and is there to help staff in a managerial role with regular human resource support.

Division supervisor:

* This role is responsible for the implementation of the assigned portion of the incident action plan, assignment of resources within the division/group, reporting on the progress of control operations, and status of resources within the division or group.

* This role provides critical supervision and is accountable (safety and administratively) to their assigned resources, while applying fire suppression tactics that relate to strategies that will meet the incident objectives.

Task force leader:

* This role is responsible for performing tactical assignments assigned to a strike team or a task force.

* This role reports work progress, resource status and other important information to a division supervisor.

* The task force leader also maintains work records on assigned personnel.