NEWS
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2020
National Guard soldiers leave from Hermiston to fi ght fi res
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
National Guard soldiers
from around the Pacifi c
Northwest gathered at the
Hermiston armory on Tues-
day morning, Sept. 15,
before heading out to assist
in Oregon’s fi refi ghting
efforts.
While some soldiers
with previous fi refi ghting
experience have been on the
fi re lines since last week,
the 41 members of the 3rd
Battalion, 116th Regiment
leaving from the Hermiston
armory on Sept. 15 were
heading to Camp Rilea in
Astoria for fi ve days of fi re-
fi ghting training fi rst. They
hailed from parts of Ore-
gon, Washington and Idaho.
“We’ve got soldiers that
last week were evacuating
their own families and now
are helping here,” First Lt.
Rider Mills of Enumclaw,
Washington, said.
Mills said they didn’t
know for sure how long
they would be gone from
their families and jobs —
just “as long as they need
us.”
Specialist Casey Hayes
of Joseph said his employer
was “extremely understand-
ing and very supportive” of
him leaving to go fi ght fi res.
“We normally have a
pretty good guess when the
fi res start getting as bad as
they are that we’ll go out,”
he said. “We’re a line of
defense for the state.”
Hayes
previously
worked on the Taylor Creek
fi re near Grant Pass in 2018,
and said they were treated
well by the U.S. Forest Ser-
vice, with good food and
good people. He said Guard
members there were able to
take on the “grunt work,”
such as mopping up fi re
lines and checking for lin-
gering hot spots that could
reignite, freeing up the
more experienced career
fi refi ghters to focus on more
complex work.
Specialist Noe Ramirez
of Salem said he knows a lot
of people over on the west
side of the state, who have
been evacuated or even had
their homes or businesses
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Oregon Army National Guard members discuss previous wildfi re deployments with Umatilla County Commissioner Bill Elfering on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, at
the Oregon National Guard Armory in Hermiston.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
The sun shines through the smoke-fi lled sky above the Oregon National Guard Armory in
Hermiston as National Guard members prepare to board a bus to Astoria for fi refi ghting
training on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020.
burn down. His family also
lives in the area and he said
he was concerned for them.
“I want to be with my
family right now, but I
know I’m helping,” he said.
Ramirez
has
never
fought wildfi res before, and
said he was excited to learn
new skills at Camp Rilea
before getting to help with
the state’s fi re suppression
efforts.
After fi nishing training
at Camp Rilea, the soldiers
will be deployed to one
of the dozens of wildfi res
around the state, although
they weren’t sure yet where
they would end up.
Oregon National Guard Members load their bags onto a bus
in preparation for wildland fi refi ghting training in Astoria on
Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. From Astoria, the National Guard
members will join fi re crews throughout the state to help
battle wildfi res.
They left Hermiston
shortly before 8:30 a.m.
on Sept. 15, with Uma-
tilla County Commissioner
Bill Elfering and Morrow
County Commissioner Jim
Doherty there to see them
off.
“ Let's all do our part to
protect our community! ”
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