Most of the fire agencies in Stayton and the Santiam Canyon have received a $35,000 boost from the state.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal has announced more than $6 million in grants for the 2025 wildfire season. This is the fourth year that the state has provided the funding to agencies statewide.
The funding helps local fire agencies, many of whom rely on volunteer crews, bring on extra firefighters during wildfire season. The seasonal staff boost emergency response in 200 agencies across the state, from wildfire calls to everyday emergencies.
“The wildfire season staffing grant is one of our most impactful tools to help local fire agencies respond to emergencies faster, protect communities, and support each other through mutual aid,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said in a press release issued by the OSFM. “We’re thankful to our legislators for continuing to invest in the safety and resilience of our communities.”
Local fire agencies were eligible to apply for up to $35,000 to increase staffing levels during the fire season. Each summer, this grant adds more than 1,500 firefighters across Oregon.
Winning grants in this cycle were the Aumsville Rural Fire Protection District, the Gates Rural Fire Protection District, the Idanha-Detroit Rural Fire Protection District, the Lyons Rural Fire District, the Scio Rural Fire Protection District, the Stayton Fire District, the Sublimity Rural Fire Protection District and the Turner Fire District.
Canyon districts are joining forces to help make the grant funding go even further.
Sublimity Chief Alan Hume noted that with so many districts on the list “this provides all of our agencies the unique opportunity to respond more aggressively across all districts with increased capacity. For the past two years we have operated collaboratively using overlapping response bubbles for all wildland-related calls. This assures that each fire call is bringing two or three departments on the initial report while also putting the remaining departments on notice.”
Sublimity also is working directly with Stayton Fire on managing the grant program.
“Last year,” Hume said, “Stayton and Sublimity Fire Districts partnered to hire six seasonal firefighters. By jointly hiring and sharing these firefighters, we were able to create a rotating schedule to have two additional firefighters on staff at both stations each day of the week. This model proved to be a great success last year, so we plan to do the same this year.”
Stayton Fire Chief Jay Alley noted other benefits from the grants.
“This grant which many local fire districts received will provide the region with immediate response with additional personnel to emergency incidents,” Alley said. “We work cooperatively with our surrounding agencies to provide the best coverage and response during the fire season. This grant also allows us to send resources out of the area and across the state, on state conflagration mobilizations. The seasonal personnel also assist with summer projects around the fire district.”
Turner Fire District Chief Jordan Donat said that “we will be using the funds to hire two to three wildland firefighters to upstaff weekdays over the summer. I am not sure yet on scheduling. We have received this grant before and we typically will hire current volunteers to work over the summer. It is a great opportunity for us to have funding for this and has proven to make a difference.”
At Idanha-Detroit, said Lieutenant Laura Harris, firefighters hired using the grant “will work ten-hour shifts five days per week, and will primarily respond to wildland fires.”
One of the key challenges at Idanha-Detroit is the agency’s responsibility for Highway 22, with Harris noting that “they will also respond to EMS calls, motor vehicle crashes, and other incidents to bolster our response. Summer is our busiest season, with nearly 50% of our total annual call volume occurring in June, July and August.”
Idanha-Detroit also uses its wildland staffers to inspect recreational fire pits.
“This is a program that our district started several years ago, and we’ve had great success with it. Open burning is normally shut down during the summer months, but we have come up with a permitting program that allows our residents to have recreational fires as long as they meet our requirements, which are listed on our website (idanhadetroitfire.com). Our program allows our firefighters to meet our community members face-to-face, and talk about other safety topics such as address signs and driveway access for emergency vehicles.
“We are very grateful to be the recipients of the wildland staffing grant again this year. As most people who live in the Santiam Canyon know, the Detroit and Idanha communities are at an increased risk of wildfires due to our very rural location and lack of resources. Having the ability to hire full-time staff to cover our district during the height of the wildfire season is extremely beneficial to our community.”
