"Firefighters know, if they're on a fire and need more resources - if we have it - they'll get it," said Matt Reidy, U.S. Forest Service fire safety staff-member. "When we get an incident and the fire bell rings, we all count on each other. The fire bell rings (and) you'll see all sorts of different -colored fire engines out there. We follow the "closest resource" protocol on an interagency basis. We've done that successfully for over a decade out of this La Grande office."

New technology has increased the connectivity of the Pacific Northwest Wildland Firefighting Community making it possible for agencies to exchange information and resources quickly.

Recommended for you

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.