This week on Oregon On The Record, we venture outside the studio to conduct in-the-field interviews with a unique group of men and women: wildland firefighters.
We had the chance to attend the final day of the Mid-Willamette Valley Interagency Wildland Fire School, where students put all their learned skills to work on their fire suppression skills.
Hundreds of young men and women amassed on a clear-cut hillside outside of Sweet Home Oregon to put all of their in-class lessons to work as they dug trenches, buried ambers, and blasted burning coals with hoses.
For many, this job is just a way to make extra money and learn a great skill. For others it’s the beginning of a career. But regardless this cohort of young people are truly the front lines of what is become an essential function that will only become more important as our wildfire season becomes hotter, longer and more destructive.
We also talked with the incident commanders and instructors who are training the next generation of fire fighters in our region.
Additionally, we chatted with Eric Kranzush of Giustina Land & Timber Co. which suffered greatly during the Holiday Farm Fire, Will Tucker, Linn County Commissioner who is a big supporter of our firefighters and KLCC’s own Brian Bull who has covered many fires and spent time fighting them.
All told, the role of wildland firefighter is just about the most essential of essential workers during summer in our fire-prone region.
