Knoxville firefighters travel to Oregon to battle wildfires

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Rural Metro Fire says two firefighters are headed to the west coast to help battle the ongoing wildfires there.

Firefighter/EMT Jeremiah McLeod, and Captain/Paramedic Brad Rettig loaded up their gear and departed on at least a two-week deployment Monday afternoon.

According to a report, air quality is so poor due to the fires that Portland needed to establish a smoke advisory shelter where people in need of fresh air can go.

Knoxville firefighters travel to Oregon to battle wildfires.(Rural Metro Fire)

Some areas of central California blanketed by smoke are not likely to see relief until October, said Dan Borsum, the incident meteorologist for a fire in Northern California.

Read more about the fires and conditions in the area here.