>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

LAST RESORT: Oregon National Guard soldiers learn the ropes of fire shelters, reflective shells that are firefighters’ final means of defense should a blaze overtake them. All of the soldiers training out of Pendleton passed their Level II certification after a week of classroom work and field training. - The Observer/ETHAN SCHOWALTER-HAY

This was no hallucination.

Around 350 Oregon National Guard soldiers attended wildland firefighting training last week at three locations across the state: Astoria, Klamath Falls and Pendleton.

“We’ve seen very active fire seasons for our neighbors to the north and south, and we may face a similar situation in Oregon,” Gov. Ted Kulongoski said in a July 22 statement on the training. “We have robust resources already in place, but I want to ensure we have the ability to respond with additional support if needed.”

Some 60 soldiers — all of whom had stepped up to the fire duty voluntarily — completed their 42 hours of training in Pendleton. After several days of classroom work and a written exam, the course culminated in field practice off Forest Road 31 on the Umatilla National Forest.

The soldiers are now certified as Level II firefighters, meaning they can be deployed  to wildfires by the governor on a 48-hour notice. They’ll respond in 20-person hand crews, primarily to assist in building firelines to contain blazes.

The Oregon National Guard was last activated for wildland firefighting in 2002.

“The big thing is interagency cooperation,” said Capt. Stephen Bomar, the deputy state public affairs officer with the Oregon National Guard.

In addition to the Guard, a number of agencies were represented out near Spring Mountain, with instructors from the U.S. Forest Service, the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training.

Lt. Christopher Nicely with the Oregon National Guard was one of the incident commanders for the training, along with Angie Johnson of the Oregon Department of Forestry.

“The instructors have been just wonderful. I couldn’t say enough nice things about them,” Nicely said.

Others guiding the cadets through their exercises included Diane Partridge, Ken Lane and Steve Meyer of ODF; George Jamieson, Rocky Desimini, Jason McKinnon and Don Willis of DPSST; and Steve Garza of the Forest Service.

The training was funded by the Forest Service and ODF.

A number of stations set up in the rolling conifer woodland and open grassland mimicked a wildfire situation, although, due to the dry conditions, no live flames were incorporated.

Garza said the exercises were mostly about “just learning how to function as a unit.”

He said every wildfire requires a certain protocol, including stationing lookouts to monitor fire and weather behavior, maintaining communication lines and identifying escape routes and safety zones.

On a bunchgrass flat, soldiers practiced burrowing into practice fire shelters, which are reflective bags deployed as a last resort should a blaze envelop a firefighter.

As the trainees lie face-down in their shells, the instructors noted that, in a real wildfire situation, temperatures would be much higher inside and hot winds would be whipping all about — conditions that an individual ensconced in a fire shelter might endure for hours.

Elsewhere, crews wielded Pulaskis, shovels and other tools to construct firelines, buffer zones of non-flammable material meant to harness a wildfire and restrict its movement.

Joani Bosworth of the Umatilla National Forest, also helping out Thursday, said that, in every field situation, “Firefighter safety is number one.”

Soldiers polled in between wielding shovels or vanishing into shelters listed off key components to battling wildland conflagrations.

“Teamwork.”

“Accountability.”

“Constant communication.”

“Pay attention to the weather.”

Lindsay Freeland, who lives in La Grande, is new to the National Guard. She enjoyed the experience, which she’d been looking forward to.

“I’ve always wanted to do some forest firefighting,” she said.

After completing the certification, she noted that the job was a complex one.

“It has a lot more pieces than what you would think.”

The dedication of the National Guard trainees, and the cooperation between their diverse instructors, paid off — the Pendleton-based class all passed the certification.