Five days following their mobilization to the Mosier Creek Fire outside of The Dalles, the last of the Office of State Fire Marshal’s task forces under the Blue Incident Management Team have demobilized and are returning to their home counties after serving under a unified command with the Oregon Department of Forestry.
The “Blue Team” arrived at the fire on Aug. 13, with eight structural task forces. Today, the IMT and the remaining task forces released the delegation of structure responsibilities to local fire authorities.
ODF will continue to staff the Mosier Creek Fire, doing mop-up activities. As of today, the Mosier Creek Fire covered 985 aces and was 65 percent contained. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. At the height of the fire, more than 660 structures were threatened, and 36 structures were destroyed.
“Though the Mosier Creek Fire saw no loss of life or serious injuries, for the families who lost their homes and property, this was a devastating event,” said Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple. “Despite these terrible losses, the local warning system to safely evacuate residents worked by avoiding any loss of life. The coordinated system in Oregon that brought together resources from local and state agencies quickly combined into a unified command structure that addressed the incident safely. It was an honor for the Oregon fire service to serve their Oregon neighbors.”
The OSFM wants to thank the local responders, volunteers, the American Red Cross and other community members who assisted impacted residents and supported members of the Oregon fire service.
At the Mosier Creek Fire, local and state firefighting personnel operated with new COVID-19 mitigation measures in place. Those measures included a COVID Module. For this incident the COVID Module had a health liaison, a deputy health liaison and four responders, who are certified as emergency medical technicians or higher.
These staff work to prevent and mitigate the risk of COVID-19 within fire camps. Having the module personnel address risks associated with COVID-19 allowed the IMTs and firefighting personnel to focus on their primary responsibilities at the incident.
To follow additional updates for the incident, visit the incident Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/mosiercreekfire2020.