09/04/2026
🔥 WHAT DOES IT ACTUALLY TAKE TO FIGHT A MAJOR OREGON WILDFIRE?
At our September meeting, North Lincoln Fire & Rescue Chief Rob Dahlman gave us a remarkable look behind the scenes of the six wildfire conflagrations NLFR command staff and firefighters were deployed to this summer.
And one thing became very clear: fighting a major wildfire is about much more than putting water on fire.
Chief Dahlman walked us through how the Incident Command System (ICS) turns what could be chaos into an organized response involving local fire departments, state and federal agencies, incident management teams, law enforcement, logistics crews, communications systems and hundreds... sometimes thousands... of people.
When a fire grows beyond what local resources can safely manage, Oregon can bring in resources from across the state and beyond. Local firefighters may suddenly find themselves working alongside crews and equipment from many different agencies, all operating within the same command structure.
🏠 Protecting homes before the fire arrives
One of the most interesting parts of the evening was learning how structural firefighters work ahead of a wildfire.
Teams assess homes and other structures and determine which can be defended safely. They may move combustible materials away from buildings, clear gutters, remove pine needles from roofs and reduce places where wind-blown embers can start new fires.
Those assessments aren't just scribbled on paper. Crews can document conditions electronically so information can be added to incident maps and shared with the people managing the fire.
🔥 NLFR crews experienced some extraordinary conditions this summer.
Chief Dahlman shared stories from deployments including the East Evans Creek and Akawa Butte fires.
At Akawa Butte, where he served as a task force leader, crews faced extreme fire behavior while working to protect homes. At one point the fire generated its own localized weather, adding another layer of complexity to an already rapidly changing incident.
State officials reported that structural task forces protected homes, created defensible space around structures and worked alongside wildland firefighters throughout the Akawa Butte incident. At its peak, the fire became the nation's highest-priority wildfire for resource allocation.
📡 Communication can become one of the biggest problems.
Wildfires often happen in remote places where ordinary radio and cellular coverage may be poor or nonexistent. Chief Dahlman explained how satellite technology, including Starlink, is changing that equation by helping crews maintain communication and exchange information from areas where traditional systems struggle.
🚒 Sometimes firefighters deploy before there is even a fire.
We also learned about pre-positioning... moving crews and equipment into areas with extreme fire danger so they are already nearby if something starts.
Once deployed, firefighters may spend days away from home, sleeping in large fire camps, temporary facilities or whatever accommodations are available while equipment, meals, fuel, staffing and shift changes are coordinated around the clock.
And those resources don't necessarily come only from Oregon.
Through mutual-aid systems, firefighters and equipment can move between states when resources are stretched thin. During this year's fires, Oregon incidents have included personnel and incident-management resources from elsewhere in the United States and even international partners. The Grasshopper Fire alone had more than 1,700 personnel assigned while Oregon crews worked alongside an Australian/New Zealand incident management team.
💰 Then somebody has to pay for all of it.
Chief Dahlman also explained Fire Management Assistance Grants, or FMAGs. These FEMA grants can reimburse up to 75% of eligible firefighting costs when a wildfire threatens enough destruction to qualify for federal assistance.
It was a fascinating reminder that emergency management isn't one thing. It is firefighters, equipment, communications, maps, logistics, money, mutual aid, leadership and thousands of decisions being made while conditions continue to change.
💚 And where does CERT fit into all of this?
CERT volunteers are not wildland firefighters. We don't have the specialized wildland training and qualifications required to work an active fire line, and CERT activation happens locally rather than through a statewide CERT deployment.
But that doesn't mean CERT has no role.
After the 2020 Echo Mountain Complex Fire, North Lincoln County CERT members helped deliver meals to people who had lost their homes and were temporarily staying in local hotels.
That is an important part of community resilience too.
During a disaster, professional responders need to be able to concentrate on the jobs only they can do. Trained volunteers and prepared neighbors can help support their community in appropriate roles before, during and after an emergency.
And for the rest of us, Chief Dahlman had a very practical recommendation:
📱 Download Watch Duty and use it to stay informed about wildfire activity.
Also know your evacuation routes, keep your emergency supplies ready and follow official evacuation instructions when they are issued.
A huge thank you to Chief Rob Dahlman for spending the evening with us and giving our community such an open, detailed look at what NLFR firefighters have experienced across Oregon this summer.
And thank you to the NLFR firefighters and command staff who left their own homes and community to help protect someone else's.
Prepared communities are built before they are needed. 💚
