FAIRFAX, Va. — The Virginia Task Force deployed two Fairfax County Fire Department firefighters to Marion County, Oregon to battle wildfires, according to the department.
The personnel will serve as part of the Incident Support Team's Communications and Planning sections, Fairfax County Fire officials said.
The deployment is in partnership with FEMA, the USAID and the Urban Search and Rescue Team of Fairfax County.
The Virginia Task Force is a domestic and international disaster response resource that is sponsored by the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.
About 200 career firefighters, volunteer firefighters and rescue personnel trained in the rescue of victims from collapsed structures, following a natural or man-made catastrophic event are apart of the task force.
The team is made up of emergency managers and planners, physicians and paramedics and includes specialists in the fields of structural engineering, heavy rigging, collapse rescue, logistics, hazardous materials, communications, canine and technical search.
According to our news partner KGW in Portland, Marion County declared a state of emergency because of wildfires that are spreading rapidly in the county. Two large fires, the Beachie Creek and Lionshead fires have burned more than 323,000 acres as of Friday evening.
The Beachie Creek Fire and the Riverside Fire to the north are within 1 mile of each other and are expected to combine, according to Inciweb. Heavy smoke made fire detection limited and the fire line is being described as smoldering, backing and creeping fire, reports said.
Both fires prompted Level 3 (Go Now) evacuation orders for residents in the area. Evacuation shelters were established at the Oregon State Fairgrounds, the Polk County Fairgrounds and Volcanoes Stadium.