Fire crews from Oregon and California stop fire on the state border

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. – Firefighters on both sides of the Oregon-California border responded to a fire Thursday off I-5.

They were able to stop its forward progress at three acres.

Cal Fire said one firefighter was injured during the incident and had to be transported to the hospital.

Luckily, they were released just a few hours later.

Because the incident was so close to the border, fire crews had to determine who was responsible for the scene.

“Initially, when it was called in, we weren’t sure if it was on the Oregon or the California side, so, both ODF and Cal Fire Siskiyou sent resources,” ODF Southwest’s Public Information Officer, Natalie Weber said. “After it was determined that it was on the California side, we took our aircraft back and Cal Fire brought in their own.”

Weber said ODF still kept resources on scene after determining the fire was on the California side of the border to make sure the fire didn’t spread more than it already had.

Here in the Rogue Valley, local agencies work together in similar ways.

Jackson County Fire District Five (FD5) said borders go out the window when it’s time to respond to an incident.

According to FD5, crews respond to incidents based on how close their stations are to the fire, not agency borders.

“When it comes to hazard mitigation, there are no borders,” FD5 Battalion Chief, Steve Maziarski said. “Medford, Fire District Three, Ashland, Fire District Five, we’re all used to working together, we do this year after year. Our interagency cooperation is very tight.”

FD5 said all the local agencies practice together throughout the year to review communication plans for various incidents.

That includes anything from wildland fires and structure fires to problems on the interstate and highways.