Tribal Fire Management Tag-Teams Local Fire Control with Roseburg Firefighter Teams

Cow Creek Umpqua Tribal Fire Management coordinated with the City of Roseburg’s Fire Department and Central Douglas Fire & Rescue in June to preemptively burn off dry grasses and other potential wildfire fuels in Roseburg. The effort was both a training exercise in coordinating between different local firefighting organizations and a way to build up a safety buffer around homes and infrastructure near Reservoir Hill.

“All the agencies here are on an incredible first-name basis, with partnerships throughout the area,” said CCBUTI Fire Chief Monte Bryan. “Training and working together like this is so important, because we learn to cooperate and share resources, knowledge, and personnel. It makes a huge difference when it comes to crunch time during an actual wildfire.”

The Tribe’s Fire Management Team takes this responsibility very seriously, making a meticulous plan for each prescribed burn, and working with the Natural Resources Department and Heritage teams to conduct burns in a culturally-sensitive way. The burns are planned for just the right conditions: lower winds, lower humidity, a high enough heat that fuels will burn just quickly enough to contain, and plenty of firefighting staff and gear.

“Our firefighters are young, but they’re hard workers and professionals,” said Bryan. “They understand fire and how to contain it. I couldn’t ask for a better team.”

“It made me a lot more comfortable having your guys on that side of the burn line,” said Roseburg Battalion Chief Chris Galligan.