250 Additional Oregon Soldiers To Join Wildfire Response

By Lizzy Duffy (OPB)
Portland, Oregon Aug. 22, 2015 10:45 p.m.

Gov. Kate Brown announced an additional 250 Oregon National Guard members will join firefighting efforts.

"With up to a couple months of fire season still ahead of us, and many large fires currently underway, we will need to be ready to put more boots on the ground," said Brown in a statement. "Oregon National Guard citizen soldiers will be ready for activation to provide the reinforcements necessary to get the job done."

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The announcement comes just three days after Brown activated 125 soldiers after visiting the Canyon Creek Complex last week. The guardsmen are in training and are expected to deploy Wednesday.

Wildfires have been actively burning in the Pacific Northwest for 67 consecutive days. There are currently 43 fires burning in Oregon and Washington, which cover some 875,000 acres.

Winds in Oregon have pushed wildfire smoke all over the region, prompting Red Flag warnings due to unhealthy and very unhealthy air quality throughout the state.

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