Firefighters from around the area left today to help battle wildfires in Oregon.

The Bemidji Fire Department sent out a group of nine firefighters early Tuesday morning to travel to Salem, Oregon to assist with the fires that have been happening across the state. There are about three small communities in Oregon that are almost completely wiped out due to the wildfires.

The Bemidji team will be assigned to an area to protect and extinguish fires that could further harm smaller communities and structural fires. According to Bruce Hemstad, Bemidji Assistant Fire Chief, the team will most likely will not be dealing with the wildfires in the state.

The team will be assisting with the fires for about 14 days and will be on an 18-day trip, with four of the days including travel.

Meanwhile, the Brainerd Fire Department has sent four of their firefighters to Oregon as part of the state’s task forces created to help control the ongoing wildfires out west. Brainerd fire officials say the crew of veteran firefighters will also be primarily tasked with protecting existing structures from damage, along with possible other tasks as needed. They will also see a 14-day deployment with some travel on either side of the trip to Oregon.

The Brainerd crew headed out to Oregon around seven Tuesday morning.

By — Destiny Wiggins