Aussies and Kiwis

It's all forest fires, all the time, at the Nugget Newspaper in Sisters, Oregon. Here's just a sample of the headlines:

• Highway 242 reopened today
• Forests continue to burn west of Sisters
• New fire breaks out south of Mt. Jefferson
• Smoky air causes health problems
• Fire camp: An instant city arises
• Sisters opens hearts to firefighters
• Airlift supplied Black Crater fire spike camp
• There's a silver lining in the smoky cloud over Sisters
• Sisters residents get a critical lesson in defensible space
• Firefighters gain upper hand on Black Crater Fire
• Fire delays middle school start
• Firefighters battle to contain spread
• Smoke forces closure of Highway 242
• Aussies and Kiwis help battle blaze

Interestingly, we import firefighters from down under:

The fight to quell the Lake George Fire is an international effort - aided by a contingent of nine Australians and New Zealanders.

The Aussies and Kiwis are detailed to the blaze as part of a mutual aid agreement between the United States, Australia and New Zealand that first put folks from Down Under on American fire lines in 2000. Americans reciprocated during horrific southern hemisphere fire years in 2002 and 2003.

While the nations lie literally a world apart from each other, the arrangement makes good sense. For the most part, our fire season and theirs are at the opposite ends of the calendar.

Great photo galleries, too.