Ashland firefighters on way to help fight raging LA wildfires

Three firefighters from Ashland Fire & Rescue are loading up gear and taking engine Heavy Brush 1 on its last AF&R assignment. From left, Westin Martin and Andrew Burns (Robert Trask is not pictured) are driving to the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, today, Jan. 8, as part of a group sent through an agreement between CAL FIRE and the office of the Oregon State Fire Marshal. Ashland's engine Heavy Brush 1 is being sold to Applegate Valley Fire District and replaced by a new engine paid for by the State of Oregon at the end of this month. AFR photo
January 8, 2025

Oregon mobilizes 12 task forces to assist in fighting blazes that have destroyed at least 1,000 homes, killed two; wind gusts reach 80 mph in some urban areas

Rogue Valley Times staff report

Several Rogue Valley firefighting agencies are sending reinforcements to Southern California to help battle catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires driven by devilish Santa Ana winds.

The contingent includes engines from Illinois Valley, Medford Fire, Ashland Fire & Rescue, Jackson County Fire District 3 and Chiloquin Fire and Rescue. A briefing and sendoff was held late Wednesday morning.

They are a part of 12 task forces from Oregon mobilizing Wednesday to assist, the Rogue Valley Times has learned. Battalion chiefs from Medford Fire and Fire District No. 3 are the local task force leaders, officials said.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that 1,000 structures had been lost and two people were dead. Wind gust speeds have reached 80 mph, 100 mph in some mountainous areas, driving the flames into residential neighborhoods.

At least four separate blazes were burning in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, home of the famed Rose Parade. With thousands of firefighters already attacking the flames, the Los Angeles Fire Department put out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help, and weather conditions were too windy for firefighting aircraft to fly, further hampering the fight. Fire officials hoped to get the flights up later Wednesday.

In addition to the two deaths, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said many others were hurt in the fires, which threatened at least 28,000 structures.

This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.

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Bert Etling

Bert Etling is the executive editor of Ashland.news. Email him at [email protected].

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