July 29, 2022 4:00 a.m.

State officials are pre-positioning firefighting resources in Klamath County, ahead of elevated fire risk.

The combination of hot weather and lightning in the forecast in southern Oregon has prompted the move from the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal.

A taskforce from Lane County, made up of fourteen firefighters, four engines and a water tender, will arrive in Klamath County on Friday, and will be pre-positioned for seventy-two hours. The team may stay longer if needed. A release from the OSFM said the task force will be on the ground to add additional firefighting capacity if a brush or wildfire breaks out.

Currently the agency is not mobilizing any of its Incident Management Teams. Those teams are ready to go if they are needed. The release said as the hot weather continues, the OSFM encourages all Oregonians to be aware of the dry conditions and take necessary precautions to avoid sparking a human-caused fire.