Seven local fire departments win wildfire staffing grants

Six Union County fire departments and Enterprise Fire Department will head into wildfire season with extra staffing money after Oregon awarded nearly $6 million to 180 local fire agencies statewide. The Oregon State Fire Marshal said the grants can provide up to $35,000 per agency through October, money that can be used to hire seasonal firefighters or cover extra shift work so crews can catch fires while they are still small.

For Union County, the payoff is practical. Small rural departments often stretch volunteers across wide areas, from the foothills around Elgin and Imbler to the farm and timber lands served by North Powder, Union and the rural edges of La Grande. Extra paid staff can close coverage gaps when volunteers are at work, shorten response times, and keep departments available for medical, rescue and mutual-aid calls without leaving their home district thin.

The local recipients are Elgin Rural Fire Protection District, Imbler Rural Fire Protection District, La Grande Fire Department, La Grande Rural Fire Protection District, North Powder Rural Fire District, Union Rural Fire Protection District and Enterprise Fire Department. Because each agency can use the award differently, the grant does not create one fixed seasonal crew size across the region. For some departments it will mean bringing on more firefighters; for others it will mean keeping existing crews on duty longer during the driest months, when one fast response can determine whether a blaze stays small or turns into a larger community emergency.

State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple called the program a “game changer,” saying it helps keep fires from escalating into much larger and more costly regional or statewide responses. Crooked River Ranch Fire and Rescue Chief Sean Hartley said the grant had a “direct and immediate impact” on the department’s ability to respond to the Alder Springs and Flat fires in 2025, underscoring how seasonal staffing can also support major mutual-aid incidents when local resources are already stretched.

The wildfire season staffing grant was established in 2022 and is now in its fifth year. Oregon gave the program $6 million in 2025, and the state said that round funded 200 local fire agencies, compared with 191 in 2024. This year’s awards reached 180 agencies statewide, and the Legislature has already set aside money for 2027, making the grant a more durable part of Oregon’s wildfire response budget. In Union County’s 2022 Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, wildfire is listed among the county’s historical hazards, and these staffing dollars are aimed directly at that risk before summer heat and dry grass push local departments to the limit.