During fire season, the Oregon Department of Forestry uses various water sources to fight fires. From fire hydrants to even water tenders. However, when fire hydrants are not available and water tenders run out of water, ODF firefighters resort to water drafting to suppress fires.
Water drafting allows firefighters to pull water from local water sources such as rivers, lakes, ponds, irrigation ditches, and even pools. Drafting is extremely beneficial for departments in rural areas such as the Oregon Department of Forestry where firefighters have minimal access to fire hydrants.
“It's very beneficial because most of the fires we go on are going to be in areas where we don’t have access to fire hydrants or some of our water tenders may not be able to get to. So, we’re able to get water from rivers, lakes, ponds, and even people’s pools sometimes," ODF Firefighter Josh Stevens says.