SALEM, OR – The Oregon Air National Guard activated 44 Airmen Friday to support wildland firefighting on the Grasshopper Fire in the Mount Hood National Forest.
The two 22-person hand crews are from the 142nd Wing in Portland and the 173rd Fighter Wing in Klamath Falls. They mobilized in Salem before heading to a fire camp near the Warm Springs area.
The activation marks the first time in the Oregon Air National Guard’s history that Air Guard personnel have led the state’s ground firefighting response…