MOLALLA, Ore. — Armed with chainsaws, hoses, Pulaskis and other essential firefighting tools, more than 140 adults in custody (AICs) are preparing to assist Oregon wildfire crews this summer through a long-standing partnership between the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) and the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC).
This month, ODF experts trained 37 women from Coffee Creek Correctional Facility and more than 100 AICs assigned to South Fork Forest Camp, equipping them with the skills needed to respond to wildfires across the state.
For many participants, the program offers more than firefighting experience.
“We’ve been looking forward to fire season all year,” said Coffee Creek AIC Kelsie Martin, who is returning for a second season. “Nearly all the skills we learn here are transferable to life after we get out. It’s not just the hands-on stuff either—we get to practice responsible leadership and team building. However, the main thing the training and actual firefighting gives us is meaning and purpose.”
Coffee Creek typically maintains three 10-person hand crews that remain trained, ready and on rotation throughout fire season.
According to Kyle Koonce, ODF’s Santiam Unit Permanent Forest Officer and coordinator of the Coffee Creek training program, the crews play a vital role in initial wildfire response.
“The crews are key to keeping our initial attack robust,” Koonce said. “We typically have two-to-three engines respond to a fire start, then the hand crews come in and finish lining the fire, helping to keep them small. This allows our engines to get back online ready for the next fire start.”
The crews also perform important post-fire rehabilitation work, including recovering and rolling up miles of fire hose after an incident.
“For a 15-acre fire we might have nearly a mile of hose out there,” Koonce said. “These crews will spend a half to a whole day just emptying and rolling up fire hose. Again, this frees up critical resources like our engines to go after other fires.”
While AIC firefighting crews perform many of the same duties as contracted wildland firefighting teams, they are limited to deployments within a two-hour drive of their home facility.
“We still operate under the same standards as any other crew with a 16-hour day,” said DOC Sgt. Patrick Foreman, a certified crew boss. “The difference is we may be traveling four hours.”
Participants say the work allows them to make meaningful contributions to communities across Oregon.
Jody Warren, who is entering her third fire season with the program, recalled responding to the 2024 Lee Falls Fire near Cherry Grove.
“It was very emotional for me since I grew up in the area,” Warren said. “It gave me a chance to give back to a community I took from. It gave me such purpose that now I want to pursue a career in firefighting when I get out in 10 months.”
Preparation for fire season is a year-round commitment. Participants regularly train and maintain fitness levels long before wildfire season begins.
“Every weekend, we would do training and every weekend, no matter the weather, these women would choose not to sleep in, but to get out and get after it,” Foreman said.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Coffee Creek firefighting program, a partnership between ODF and DOC. Interest remains high, with 110 women applying this year for just 27 available positions.
“Many were not medically cleared, and some were not accepted to participate for other reasons,” Foreman said. “Otherwise, we might have nine or 10 crews instead of three.”
The training includes 40 hours of classroom instruction and field exercises covering firefighting tools, pumps and hose operations, chainsaw safety and use, and simulated wildfire scenarios. Participants also complete nationally recognized courses in wildland firefighting, human factors in fire service, and fire behavior, earning certifications that can help them pursue careers after release.
At South Fork Forest Camp, located in the heart of the Tillamook State Forest, AICs receive similar training through a condensed format and provide 12 additional firefighting crews ready for deployment. ODF also utilizes smaller numbers of trained AIC firefighters from Santiam, Deer Ridge, Snake River and Powder River correctional facilities.
ODF officials say the crews have become an increasingly important resource during severe fire weather events.
“We have been prepositioning crews ahead of predicted severe weather events for several years,” Koonce said. “This cuts down on response time and allows us to spend more time with initial attack rather than traveling.”
Beyond strengthening Oregon’s firefighting capacity, officials say the program creates opportunities for rehabilitation, leadership development and future employment.
“These programs have given us more firefighting resources and, as a bonus, provide our seasonal staff an opportunity to lead and teach that they likely might not get otherwise until later in their career,” Koonce said. “From the ODF perspective, everything about AIC crews is a win-win.”
Foreman said the benefits extend well beyond fire season.
“I know of at least eight former AICs that were part of the program that got jobs with firefighting contractors in just the last year,” he said. “How do you put a price on people finding purpose and meaning while with DOC, then leaving the system and becoming working, productive members of society?”
For 75 years, ODF and DOC have jointly operated South Fork Forest Camp, making it one of Oregon’s longest-running correctional rehabilitation and workforce development partnerships while continuing to provide valuable wildfire response resources to communities across the state.
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