Grays Harbor Fire District 5 volunteer and certified wildland firefighter FF2 Alex Patton is among many from Washington down in Oregon assisting with wildland firefighting efforts.

Volunteer firefighter Patton joined the wildland firefighting efforts in Oregon with other members from Washington after the fire in Rochester had been demobilized.

Patton is joined with another firefighter from Lewis County and is currently working on the fire known as the Horse Prarie Fire, located 12 miles west of Riddle, Ore., and 8 miles Southeast of Camas Valley.

The Horse Prarie Fire started on Saturday, Aug. 27, around 3:30 p.m. and was 50 acres. Currently, there are 969 firefighters working to contain the fire now estimated at 14,028 acres, with 20 percent containment.

Grays Harbor Fire District 5 is a part of the Washington State Fire Resource Mobilization Plan and sends its equipment and personnel that meet the standards established by the plan to approved incidents. Besides helping others in dire need during a disaster, the fire district is compensated for use of the equipment and the personnel cost contributed to the incident. Many fire departments around the State of Washington are part of the joint collaboration and each year it has become a pivotal part of fire protection for many areas including Capitol Forest, Mason County and recently the Rochester area.