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Oregon’s Quietly Built Swift Water Rescue Team Gets Its First Real Test in Washington Floods News By Diane Megaw On Dec 13, 2025 Oregon Deploys Swift Water Rescue Team to Assist Washington Flood Response A swift water rescue team from Clackamas Fire District, which has quietly been building capacity, was deployed on its first mission Thursday to bolster emergency flood response after major flooding in neighbouring Washington State. Oregon EMAC Mission Deployed To Assist Washington Flood Emergency Responders After the Washington Emergency Management Division requested assistance during the recent major flooding, the Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) deployed a six-member swift water rescue team from the Clackamas Fire District on a seven-day mission. Tidings Data Snapshot Oregon to Washington flood mission : what it looks like 6 Swift water rescuers deployed from Clackamas Fire District 7 days Mission length described by Oregon OEM First EMAC deployment for Oregon’s swift water rescue team 1996 Year EMAC became federal public law 50 states Plus DC, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam Source: Oregon OEM press release (Dec 12 2025) and Washington EMD EMAC guide (Dec 2016) Dailytidings.com Coordinated through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact , or EMAC — a national mutual aid system that enables states to share resources during disasters, the deployment is the first EMAC for Oregon’s swift water rescue team. EMAC point What it means in practice State to state compact Requests and offers run through state emergency management agencies Governor declared emergency The impacted state’s governor declaration is the trigger for EMAC sharing Reimbursable The requesting state reimburses the assisting state after the mission Protections Includes workers comp, license reciprocity, and liability protections Not allowed No self deployment / no county to county moves / does not replace federal support Oregon’s 125th National Guard is also ready to deploy if needed, and the state’s drone resources from the State Preparedness and Incident Response Equipment (SPIRE) program are available, with county-level pilots prepared to assist. Kelly Jo Craigmiles, emergency program coordinator with the OEM Response Team, said, “Oregon is proud to stand with Washington during this challenging time.” Clackamas County’s SWIFT Team Shows Why Oregon Can Send Flood Rescuers Across State Lines Built as a joint fire and sheriff operation, Clackamas County’s SWIFT Team is a FEMA Type 1 swiftwater and floodwater rescue team that already responds in and out of Oregon through EMAC. Ongoing exercises included: At Sandy River Airport in August, the Oregon Army National Guard aviators and Clackamas Fire’s Water Rescue Team completed groundbreaking training that could revolutionize the state’s response to flood emergencies. Share Twitter Facebook ReddIt WhatsApp Pinterest Email