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Crook County fire chief urges commission to renew delegation order for wildfire response
Summary
Fire Chief Matt Smith briefed the board on coordination gaps across Crook County and asked the commissioners to continue a delegation of authority (Order 2025-29) that enables state mutual-aid teams to carry structural-fire authority into unprotected areas during major incidents.
Matt Smith, fire chief of Crook County Fire and Rescue, told the Crook County Board of Commissioners on June 17 that his district covers roughly 450 square miles and that substantial parts of the county lack structural fire protection. "I'm Matt Smith. I'm the fire chief at Crook County Fire and Rescue," Smith said, adding that the county still has "different types of wildland fire protection" and some areas that are effectively unprotected.
Smith reviewed how mutual aid works when incidents threaten structures and lives: the State Fire Marshal’s Office and Oregon Department of Forestry coordinate mutual-aid responses and, when needed, the state can bring in an overhead incident-management team to assume structural-fire authority for a local incident. He described County Order 2025-29 as the document that outlines how the county manager or a designated commissioner can accept and memorialize that delegated authority from incoming teams.
Commissioners discussed continuing the order and simplifying its language so it can apply across multiple fire seasons. Staff suggested a motion to amend or update Order 2025-29 to include the 2026 wildfire season or to remove an annual date so it extends through future seasons; a motion on the floor asked the board to update the order and was approved.
The fire chief emphasized mitigation and homeowner preparedness alongside coordination: "defensible space," trimming trees, ensuring egress and safety zones, and a voluntary defensible-space assessment program offered by the district. He encouraged residents to use the district’s prevention resources and said the district can provide limited on-site assistance.
The board did not amend the order’s core delegation language at the meeting beyond agreeing to update the order; staff will prepare revised language for a future meeting. No formal implementation deadlines beyond the immediate confirmation were specified at the meeting.
The board also praised recent coordination with the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the state's mutual-aid coordinator, calling recent outreach and on-the-ground cooperation "outstanding." The commission voted to continue and update the delegation order to ensure rapid mutual-aid authority when structural protection is required during wildland incidents.
