Oregon Firefighters Rush to North Carolina’s Aid in Wildfire Crisis Under Mutual Support Pact

Twenty-six firefighters and two  Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) representatives headed to North Carolina over the weekend to assist in fighting numerous wildfires in the state. Many were assigned to the Black Cove incident in western North Carolina on arrival.

Oregon Firefighters Return Favor To North Carolina Firefighters Battling Wildfires

North Carolina sent almost a whole incident management team with several overhead positions to support Oregon, which was battling wildfires in 2024.

This gave ODF some resource flexibility at a time when people and equipment were limited. The deployment of ODF firefighters to North Carolina on a two-week rotation gives them the chance to return the favor.

ODF firefighters were sent to North Carolina under mutual assistance agreements between the two states.

This can happen when wildfire activity is low in Oregon, at which times the state has spare firefighters to help in places experiencing high levels of wildfire. In 2024, ODF received firefighters and equipment from about 21 states, provinces, and territories to help with raging wildfires, including Alaska, Hawaii, and NW Canadian territories.

By working together, the mutual agreements create a more extensive, faster, and comprehensive fire management system.

Michael Curran, ODF’s Fire Protection Division Chief, said, “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.”

Curran also confirmed that serving Oregonians is their first and primary priority. Before committing to any out-of-state deployment, ODF ensures its own fire management system is adequately staffed and available to respond to fires in Oregon and does not have to prioritize one fire over another. ODF has an additional incident management team (IMT).