Photo By Maj. Wayne Clyne | Brig. Gen. Alan Gronewold, Oregon's adjutant general, addresses Oregon Air National...... read more read more
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TYGH VALLEY, Ore. — Oregon National Guard senior leaders flew from Salem to the Grasshopper Fire camp aboard an HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter with Golf Company, 1st Battalion, 189th Aviation, Aug. 17, 2026, to visit Air National Guard members supporting wildland firefighting operations, thanking the airmen for volunteering to fight one of the state's largest active wildfires.
Brig. Gen. Alan Gronewold, Oregon's adjutant general, led the visit alongside Brig. Gen. Jenifer E. Pardy, director of the Joint Staff; Chief Warrant Officer 5 Lenora Landwehr, command chief warrant officer; Chaplain (Col.) Jacob Scott, the state chaplain; and Chief Master Sgt. Brent Cavanias, command senior enlisted leader. Jonna Papaefthimiou, resilience officer for Gov. Tina Kotek's office, also joined the visit to meet with the airmen on the governor's behalf.
"This is a big deal for Oregonians, big deal for the Guard, to go out and see National Guardsmen out fighting fire, doing what we're trained to do," Gronewold told the group. "What we're here to do is protect Oregonians and their property, and you guys are doing that."
The Grasshopper Fire had burned more than 90,000 acres and was 47% contained as of Aug. 17. The fire camp supporting the response has grown to approximately 1,800 personnel, with about 1,550 directly engaged in firefighting operations.
Among the airmen Gronewold and the other leaders met with were Senior Airman Colby Shoals and Senior Airman Connor Carlson, both assigned to the 270th Air Traffic Control Squadron, nicknamed "Chaos," out of the 173rd Fighter Wing. Shoals said the physically demanding work of wildland firefighting fits naturally with the team's usual training.
"It's right up our alley," Shoals said. "What we do day to day at the base, we're already working together out in the field, so it's pretty much another day on the job for us."
Carlson said the team has taken on some of the more physically demanding tasks on the fire line, including carrying water on their backs to perform wet mop-up work.
"We've been able to pick up a lot of those heavier tasks, like carrying a bladder pack on us, so we can do that wet mop-up where it's easier rather than doing dry mop-up," Carlson said.
Shoals said the mission mirrors the teamwork and mutual accountability the airmen already rely on in their day-to-day work.
"Everybody's like a big family there, so everybody has each other's backs," Shoals said. "If somebody looks like they're not doing so well or getting a little tired, everybody's checking on each other."
| Date Taken: | 12.31.1969 |
| Date Posted: | 08.17.2026 19:34 |
| Story ID: | 572616 |
| Location: | TYGH VALLEY, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 82 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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