July 17, 2020
T he C olumbia P ress
5
National Guard troops ready to help in wildland fire suppression
Members of the Oregon Na-
tional Guard trained this week
in wildland firefighting.
The training was federal-
ly funded this year as a way
to help the state prepare for
fire season. By having Guard
members trained in advance,
they can be called up for assis-
tance much faster.
Oregon and other western
states have seen devastating
wildfires in recent years. The
National Guard would be
used if other fire agencies be-
come overwhelmed.
Their training was the same
as required of all public and
private wildland firefighters.
About 180 Guard members
attended a certification re-
fresher course last weekend
at the Oregon Public Safety
Academy in Salem.
And then on Monday, 300
Guard members who had not
trained previously began the
weeklong academy.
“The training … will allow
these citizen-soldiers and cit-
izen-airmen to be safe and
effective in their work in case
they are required this year
to help support the efforts of
wildland firefighters around
the state,” said Eriks Gabliks,
director of the Department of
Public Safety Standards and
Training, which oversees the
academy.
“We salute the men and
women from the Guard for
their dedicated service to our
country, both at home and
around the globe.”
Because of the size of the
group, the agency supple-
mented training with instruc-
tors from Oregon Department
of Forestry, Oregon Military
Department Wildland Fire-
fighting Section, United States
Forest Service, Illinois Fire
Service Institute, and the New
Jersey Forest Fire Service.
Oregon National Guard has
a track record in recent years
of supporting wildfire sup-
pression efforts from the air
and on the ground.
In 2015, members of the Or-
egon National Guard assisted
with wildfires in John Day
and Enterprise.
In 2017, more than 400
Guard members worked the
High Cascades Complex fire
near Crater Lake, and the
Chetco Bar, Blanket Creek,
Horse Prairie, and Milli fires.
“This has truly been a suc-
cessful partnership … for
many years,” said Maj. Ste-
phen Bomar, director of
Public Affairs for the Oregon
Military Department. “This
is what we do. We train to
be prepared, so when we’re
needed we are there.”
The Guard has an agreement
with the Department of For-
estry that spells out how Guard
members are used to assist in
annual firefighting efforts, if
needed.
The agreement is reviewed
annually by both agencies and
the Governor’s Office.
“Previous years have shown
the value of this partnership
as members of the Guard have
been deployed to support
wildfire suppression efforts
around Oregon when all pub-
lic and private resources were
depleted,” Gabliks said.
Above: A Guard member participates in a training exercise
(courtesy Department of Public Safety Standards and Training).
Left: Brig. Gen. Donna Prigmore, air component commander,
speaks with one of the service members during training (Amy
Elker/Joint Force Headquarters Public Affairs).