Saturday, August 9, 2025

Guanajuato firefighters travel north to help as forest fires rage in Oregon

The mayor of Guanajuato and five city firefighters are lending a hand in Ashland, Oregon, where over 200 firefighting teams have been battling devastating forest fires.

The firefighters are mainly rescuing victims and providing medical attention to injured animals in the city, parts of which were ordered to evacuate last week. The firefighters also have forest fire training, said Mayor Alejandro Navarro Saldaña.

The five men have also been helping at Ashland-area shelters and assistance centers, including an impromptu community support center set up in a Mexican restaurant.

Wildfires across the state have already consumed more than 1 million acres of land and have forced tens of thousands of Oregonians out of their homes.

“It is apocalyptic,” said Senator Jeff Merkley Sunday on the ABC program This Week. “I drove 600 miles up and down the state, and I never escaped the smoke. We have thousands of people who have lost their homes. I could have never envisioned this.”

Drinking water and electricity are still only available intermittently in the Ashland area.

Guanajuato’s offer of assistance to Ashland was born from an already strong relationship between the two locales, which have been sister cities for 51 years.

“The inhabitants of Ashland and the inhabitants of Oregon would have surely done the same for us, and that’s why we are looking forward to it,” Navarro said in a Facebook post just before leaving Mexico. “Because in Guanajuato Capital, there is fiber, there is talent, and there is capacity.”

Sources: Punto Medio (sp), Revista Patrulla (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
News quiz

The MND News Quiz of the Week: August 9th

0
Boats, bats and economic backing: Have you been paying attention to the news this week?
vehicle on fire

Suspect arrested in Monday killing of Reynosa prosecutor

1
The alleged assasin belongs to a faction of the Gulf Cartel, known as major fuel traffickers in the region .
A heat map of Mexico showing temperatures over 40 C along the northern border, throughout Sonora and in parts of the Baja peninsula

In Ivo’s wake, intense heat and stormy conditions continue to affect northwest Mexico 

1
Mexicali set a new record Thursday when temperatures hit a dangerous 52.7 degrees C (127 degrees F).
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity