VA-TF1 — an urban search and rescue team based in Fairfax County, Virginia — is deploying two of its members to Oregon to help battle the wildfires ravaging the West Coast.
The Fairfax team partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the VA-TF1 personnel will support the federal response to the fires. The Fairfax crew will serve as part of the Incident Support Team’s Communications and Planning sections.
The wildfires have killed at least 33 people from California to Washington state. At least 10 have been killed in the past week throughout Oregon, but nearly all of the dozens of people reported missing after a devastating blaze in southern Oregon have been accounted for, authorities said.
Officials have said more people are missing from other blazes, and the number of fatalities is likely to rise.
Twenty-two people have died in California, and one person has been killed in Washington state.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
