2021 Alder Creek Fire in Montana
Credit: USFWS
July 25, 2021 - As extreme fire conditions persist throughout the western states, Governor Gavin Newsom last Friday announced the deployment of firefighting resources to Montana in response to multiple wildfires burning in the eastern part of the state.
One strike team consisting of firefighting personnel from San Bruno, Central County, San Mateo Consolidated and Kentfield, along with an Assistant Chief from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), are relocating from the Bootleg Fire in Oregon to support firefighting efforts in Montana.
The strike team is traveling to eastern Montana today and is awaiting an exact location of assignment in the state. Arrival is expected on Saturday night. A new crew, also representing the same local agencies, arrived in Oregon today to backfill the strike team relocating to Montana.
There are 19 large wildfire incidents currently burning in Montana. Since Jan. 1, there have been more than 1,500 wildfires in Montana, including an additional 500 in July alone, burning more than 200,000 acres.
Earlier this month, Governor Newsom deployed additional firefighting resources to Oregon to help combat the Bootleg Fire and support the response to new fires, which followed the initial deployment of California firefighting support sent to Oregon through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC).
California has sent eight strike teams/task forces, or 40 fire engines with firefighting crews, to Oregon. The Bootleg Fire, about 11 miles northeast of the town of Sprague River, has burned more than 400,000 acres and is 40 percent contained. Local government firefighting personnel deployed on Cal OES engines to Oregon includes staff from the following agencies: Cosumnes, Sacramento Metro, Lake Shastina, Placer Hills, Mosquito, San Francisco, Napa, Ben Lomond, Mountain View, Alameda County, Monrovia, Arcadia, Monterey Park, Santa Fe, Huntington Beach, Loma Linda, Big Bear, Idlewyld, Corona and Riverside.
California has regularly offered support to assist in response and recovery for disasters throughout the United States and internationally through EMAC requests. EMAC, which includes the participation of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, is a nationally recognized mutual-aid system that provides the foundation for states to request and send resources across their borders when impacted by a disaster.
Follow the latest updates on the Montana and Oregon wildfires. For more information on EMAC, follow this link.
Source: Cal OES
