Draper Fire Department personnel are headed to Oregon as part of a statewide mutual-aid deployment to help protect communities from wildfires that have burned more than one million acres across the state.

The Utah Department of Public Safety announced Wednesday, July 29, that two task forces of Utah firefighters are deploying for a 14-day mission focused on structural protection, shielding homes and buildings in fire-threatened Oregon communities. Draper is one of 12 local agencies contributing crews, according to ABC4 Utah.

Oregon's Department of State Fire Marshal requested up to three Type III or IV Engine task forces from Utah. The state is sending two. The request came through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which allows states to share resources during declared emergencies.

The deployment comes as Oregon battles 34 active large fires statewide. The Fox Fire alone, burning near the Oregon-Idaho state line about 12 miles northeast of Huntington, had scorched more than 58,000 acres by Tuesday, July 28, with zero percent containment. The blaze forced the closure of roughly 70 miles of Interstate 84, though the highway reopened around 2 p.m. Tuesday; the Oregon Department of Transportation warned conditions could change quickly. The fire triggered a Level 3 "Go Now" evacuation order for Huntington's roughly 500 residents, the Associated Press reported.

"We are in a preparedness level five, which means essentially all hands on deck, but even then, there's only so many firefighters that we have," Oregon Department of Forestry public affairs officer Jessica Neujahr told KATU in a Monday, July 27, interview. "We are just spread extremely thin."

The deployment carries a built-in safeguard for Utah residents: DPS retains authority to recall both task forces if wildfire conditions worsen here. That matters. As we reported July 25, Utah itself remains at Preparedness Level 5, the highest national wildfire alert tier, reached July 18. The Draper City Council banned personal fireworks for the July 24 Pioneer Day holiday at its July 21 meeting, citing extreme fire danger in the city's wildland-urban interface neighborhoods.

Draper Fire has done this before. The department's 2023 annual report shows it completed two out-of-state wildland deployments that year, to Arizona and California, billing $149,608 through the National Unified Incident Finance Center. The report lists Fire Chief Clint Smith leading a dedicated Wildland Bureau and seasonal fuels crew.

Other Utah agencies joining the Oregon deployment include Orem, North Tooele, Utah County, Layton, Salt Lake City, Park City, Syracuse, Moab Valley, South Jordan, Sandy City, West Valley City, and Unified Fire Authority. West Valley City is sending three firefighters to Bend, Oregon.

The deployment is expected to conclude around Aug. 12, barring an early recall.