Just under two dozen firefighters and five engines from Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties pushed off from Medford Fire Department’s Station 13 on Wednesday just before noon to answer a call for help.

The effort was part of a dozen strike forces mobilized late Tuesday evening to help battle catastrophic wildfires in Southern California driven by devilish Santa Ana winds. The crew from the Southern Oregon region, dubbed Strike Team 6, planned to arrive in Los Angeles County by noon Thursday.

Those assigned for what is expected to be an initial 14-day deployment came from fire agencies including Illinois Valley, Medford Fire, Ashland Fire & Rescue, Jackson County Fire District 3 and Chiloquin Fire and Rescue. Battalion chiefs from Medford Fire and Fire District 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 and at least 28,000 structures threatened. (See story in sidebar rail to left.)

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.

Medford Fire Chief Eric Thompson said the mood during Wednesday’s briefing was one of eagerness to get to the embattled region quickly and help however possible. 

Thompson said the three-county effort came together quickly with an overwhelming number of firefighters willing to step up. In total, Oregon is sending 60 engines and 240 firefighters to California for the initial deployment but would re-assess as needed, Thompson said.

“Anytime that something of this magnitude happens, you know, it’s kind of our nature as public servants and the fire service… we want to go help,” Thompson said.

“So all of these men and women who will be leaving, they are eager to go help. They know that there’s communities in need. … We’ve lived it. We’ve experienced it. It wasn’t that long ago that, you know, our Valley, we were the ones receiving the help. So all of these folks understand that and know how it feels.”

Thompson said the conditions of the fires down south were reminiscent of the hours before and after the devastating wildfires in 2020, including the Almeda Fire, which burned some 3,000 acres and destroyed or damaged more than 2,500 homes.

“It wasn’t that long ago that we were faced with the same thing, the high winds, low humidity, fast moving fires, water issues… I mean, that was our world in 2020. We lived it,” he said.

“So, yeah, it brings some of that back, and we understand what they’re going through. So we also understand the necessity and the importance of being able to go help others.”

Jackson County Fire District 3 Fire Chief Mike Hussey said it was “a privilege to be able to repay some of the California agencies who came up and helped us not just with Almeda but Chetco Bar and Bootleg and so many other incidents,” Hussey said Wednesday.

“Units from as far away as San Diego were up her helping us during some of our hardest fights. We always talk about the brotherhood in the fire service. … When our firefighters see something happening somewhere else, they offer to help before we even ask. When we put out the call early this morning, we had overwhelming support. We could have staffed far more engines that we would be comfortable sending. … Even the agencies that didn’t send a resource had plenty of people willing to go do whatever they could.”