South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership
By Mindy Gould on Monday, April 18th, 2022 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News Eastern/Southeast Oregon Top Stories
Harney County, OR-The BLM Oregon & Washington recently transferred a Type 6 engine to the Warner Valley Rangeland Fire Protection Association (RFPA).
The engine was transferred under the BLM’s Rural Fire Readiness (RFR) program, which is designed to provide wildland fire equipment to local wildland firefighting partners at no cost. The goals of the RFR program are to increase the capability and capacity of local cooperators and to increase the overall safety and effectiveness of collaborative wildland fire responses.
The Warner Valley RFPA has benefited from the RFR program to build their program and increase reliability of fire equipment. “This is one more example of the complementary nature of the relationship between RFPAs and the Bureau of Land Management,” said John O’Keeffe, President of the Warner Valley Rangeland Fire Protection Association.
RFPAs are private, non-profit organizations established to help prevent and suppress fires on unprotected lands – those without federal or state jurisdiction. They represent a collaborative effort among local private landowners, the Bureau of Land Management and the Oregon Department of Forestry are essentially “neighbors helping neighbors.” Cooperative partnerships between the BLM and local and rural fire departments, including RFPAs, are crucial to remote wildfire response.
For more information on the Rural Fire Readiness Program, visit https://www.blm.gov/…/publ…/rural-fire-readiness-program
Left to Right, Kim Valentine (Burns Oregon FMO), John O’Keefe (Warner Valley RFPA), Trent Wilkie (Deputy Fire Staff Lakeview BLM), Jeff Fedrizzi (OR/WA State FMO)
