DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ore.- Firefighters working on the Dixon Fire are receiving extra help with resources coming in from Hawaii.
Back in April, Hawaii became the 11th member of the Northwest Wildland Fire Protection Agreement (NW Compact).
As a part of the NW Compact, Hawaii joins a group of member states, provinces and territories that help each other when fires might be beyond the capabilities of one member.
Three incident management personnel from Oahu and one from Maui are now in Oregon to help out with the Dixon Fire.
Derek Gasperini with ODF Incident Management Team 2 says he’s grateful for these resources, as Oregon’s fire season started earlier than usual.
“Firefighting is about repetition. Have them learn from our larger, more complex wildfires that we have in Oregon that they might have in Hawaii, but also learn from them a bit as well,” Gasperini said.
Ryan Peralta, the Operations Section Chief trainee from Hawaii, says fighting fires in Oregon is like being called up to the major leagues.
Peralta says this opportunity allows them to train on a larger scale than the fires they have back home.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.