Oregon Air National Guard hand crew members prepare to load up before deploying to the fire line in support of structure protection efforts on the Grasshopper Fire near Tygh Valley, Ore., Aug. 8, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Chief Master Sgt. Brian Brown, 173rd Fighter Wing)
TYGH VALLEY, Ore. — Oregon Air National Guard hand crews moved into their second day of wildland firefighting operations Sunday, Aug. 9, shifting from structure protection to mop-up, monitoring and patrol of existing containment lines on the Grasshopper Fire.
The Guard crews are working alongside the Oregon Department of Forestry’s liaison to the National Guard and contracted crew bosses who oversee day-to-day operations on the fireline.
Chief Master Sgt. Brian Brown of the 173rd Fighter Wing is participating in his fourth major wildfire deployment during approximately 26 years of military service. He said the mission represents one of the reasons he became a member of the Oregon National Guard.
“We can, in a military capacity, support our state and see the effects that we have to assist the state,” Brown said. “That community connection and the commitment that we have to our state is really what it’s about to be a Guardsman.”
Brown said the Grasshopper Fire deployment has been different from previous wildfire assignments because of the fire’s proximity to populated areas.
“We’re not out in the middle of nowhere where people don’t care,” Brown said. “We’re closer to the communities, so just seeing that, it’s different.”
During their first day on the fire, Guard airmen focused heavily on protecting structures and other critical resources. Crews wrapped buildings, signs, bathrooms and bridges with fire-resistant material intended to help protect them if flames reached those locations.
Sean Hunt, a crew boss with the Coos Forest Protection Association in Coos Bay, said fire resource advisors help identify the structures and other sites considered most important to protect.
“We’re working real closely with the resource advisors, so they’re the ones that are kind of pinpointing these values at risk,” Hunt said. “Yesterday there were multiple structures, signage, bathrooms. We even did a couple bridges that they wanted to keep.”
As fire conditions change, the Guard crews are now concentrating on mop-up and monitoring areas along established containment lines.
Daniel Schroth, a crew boss with California’s smokejumper program, traveled to Oregon to assist with the operation after fire activity slowed in California. He said experienced crew bosses are often brought in to help lead hand crews and other resources during periods of high demand.
“If it’s slow in California and there’s no lightning or anything like that, we’ll single resource out,” Schroth said. “We’ll go out and help as a crew boss or a task force or a division on fire.”
For some of the Oregon airmen, the Grasshopper Fire is their first experience working on a wildfire.
Tech Sgt. Slade McCord, an avionics technician with the 173rd Fighter Wing, volunteered for the deployment and said his first day on the fireline gave him a greater appreciation for the amount of planning and logistics involved in wildfire response.
“It was quite the experience just to see kind of the logistical things that go into it, the things that you don’t think of, and just the extent to which we’re ready to protect as much as we can,” McCord said. “We’re definitely doing the best we can to keep Oregon’s parks nice and safe.”
McCord said his family was initially concerned when he volunteered but has remained supportive of his deployment.
“They were definitely stressed when I told them, and of course they’re worried about me, but they know that we’re in good hands,” McCord said. “It’s great to get back to the community, to experience something that not a lot of people get to see.”
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