2023 Mid-Willamette Valley Interagency Wildland Fire School begins June 26 in Sweet Home, Oregon

Media contacts:
Joanie Schmidgall                                                                  Al DeVos

US Forest Service                                                                   Oregon Department of Forestry

[email protected]                                                  [email protected]

(541) 259-9804                                                                       (971) 283-4182

(Sweet Home, OR) – Over 200 wildland firefighters and instructors will convene in Sweet Home during the last week in June to participate in the annual five day Mid-Willamette Valley Interagency Wildland Fire School. Officials from the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), and US Fish and Wildlife Service host the yearly training to prepare firefighters for the rigors of fighting fire, both in Oregon’s forests and in rural-urban interface areas.

Co-Incident Commanders Chris Mushrush, Fire Planner for Northwest Oregon Interagency Fire Management, and Craig Pettinger, Unit Forester for ODF in Sweet Home, are leading the effort to train firefighters in tactical skills and safety.

“Fire School provides crucial education and training in wildland fire to new firefighters and gives veteran firefighters a chance to refresh their skills and explore leadership opportunities. It’s also an important time to strengthen interagency ties and collaboration.” said Mushrush.

Trainees will learn about fire behavior, suppression tactics, weather, map and compass use, teamwork, leadership, safety, use of engines, tools and hose lays, and fire investigation. To mimic life in a real fire camp, students will sleep in tents at Sweet Home High School and eat their meals communally.

The training culminates with a live fire exercise on Friday, June 30^th just outside of Sweet Home. The live fire will be a controlled burn of slash piles created by forest management activities. This presents trainees with a final challenge: applying their newly acquired skills and techniques to suppress and mop-up a real fire.

“Cascade Timber Consulting, a local forest landowner, provides a new field site each year and we are very grateful,” added Pettinger. “The live fire exercise provides an invaluable training experience – working in smoke, hiking through uneven terrain, and working closely with crew members to dig fireline – these are all things they’ll experience this season as wildland firefighters.”

Safety principles of fire training include wearing protective gear, safe use of tools and looking out for hazards. “Safety is paramount in every aspect of wildland firefighting, and it begins with our training exercises,” continued Pettinger. “Working together in a collaborative training setting improves communications and builds effective relationships for all agencies to draw on during fire season.”

This year, the field site used for the live fire exercise is located north of Foster Lake approximately 2 miles northeast of Sweet Home. Fire officials urge the public to use caution as there will be increased fire traffic in the area and the potential for visible smoke on Friday, June 30.

 

Note to Media:
On Friday, June 30, the Mid-Willamette Valley Interagency Wildland Fire School offers access for media to both trainee and experienced firefighters as they participate in the live fire exercise. Media is required to provide 24 hours notice of your intent to attend, as all media must be accompanied by an agency escort and have personal protective equipment.

Personal protective equipment includes Nomex pants, long sleeve Nomex shirt, gloves, hard hat, and boots with Vibram soles. Protective equipment (excluding leather boots) may be available for media to borrow. Please contact Joanie Schmidgall (541-259-9804) with the US Forest Service to attend.

Joanie Schmidgall (she/her/hers)

Public Affairs Officer

Forest Service

Siuslaw National Forest

Phone: 541-259-9804
[email protected]

3200 SW Jefferson Way
Corvallis, OR 97331
www.fs.usda.gov