Flags ordered to half-staff in honor of fallen Oregon firefighters
From our weekly issue dated August 13, 2008
(Photo by Elvis Santana, sxc.hu)
All flags at public
institutions are being flown at half-staff from sunrise Monday, Aug. 11, through sunset Friday, Aug. 15 in memory of the firefighters and crew who died in a helicopter crash in Northern California on Tuesday, Aug. 5.
Gov. Kulongoski, who ordered the lowered flags, said, “Year after year we depend on these committed individuals to protect our homes, our communities and our forests in the face of an unpredictable, unrelenting Mother Nature.
“Their dedication to this precarious job serves us all.
“Our thoughts and prairies are with the families and communities that have lost a loved one,” said the governor.
“We are forever indebted to them and to those who gave their lives bravely helping others,” he concluded.
The firefighters who died were part of a crew from Grayback Forestry Inc., a wildfire contracting company based in Merlin. The helicopter was owned by Grants Pass-based Carson Helicopters. The craft was being used to fight the Iron Complex of fires in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The crash claimed the lives of seven Grayback Forestry employees and injured three others.
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