Volunteer firefighters of Guanajuato from Mexico have arrived in Southern Oregon to control the raging blazes.
The department is known as the Heroico Cuerpo de Bomberos Voluntarios, the Heroic Fire Department of Guanajuato in English. The firefighters are from Central Mexico, which has a “Sister City” relationship with the Oregon city of Ashland for 51 years.
According to the Portland, five firefighters have arrived and they are ready to jump in and to provide help as they have already trained in Southern Oregon.
Five volunteers that have arrived from Mexico are Captain Aldo Iván Ruiz, Captain Juan Armando Alvarez Villegas, Sargent Jorge Luis Anguiano Jasso, Sargent Luis Alfonso Campos Martínez and firefighter Miguel Ángel Hernández Lara.
They have arrived in the city with the city’s mayor Alejandro Navarro. The Mayor said in his tweet that the group has already started working, and they are very moved to see the impact that fire has made on the families and their homes with the #PrayForAshland hashtag.
The internet is praising the volunteer firefighters for their bravery and camaraderie. One comment said that Mexico sent relief during Katrina. Mexico and Canada are the best allies, they always help us regardless of the politics.
One more comment said “Welcome to Oregon, amigos. Mantenga una bota en el quemado.”
The Alameda Fire is just one of the many fires of Oregon that has threatened the town and forced the families to evacuate the town.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown said in the press conference that She has witnessed historic fire seasons since she became a governor, but this fire has proved to be an unprecedented and significant fire event of our state.
According to the New York Times report, near 500,000 people are under evacuation orders in the state which is 10% of Oregon’s population. Other states are sending firefighters to help with the wildfire as well.
Fire historian Stephen Pyne said that he can’t think of the time in 100 years where we had series of fire outbreaks in four years running and said that he cannot find any record of this happening before, he added. “That is the big switch; that is the phase change.”