Oregon’s Latino Firefighters Raise Safety Concerns

“This tiny town is called Timbertown USA for good reason. Trucks carrying logs and plywood rumble through constantly, and clear-cut patches of land on the mountains above offer evidence of Oregon’s bustling forestry industry.

With all the hauled wood and open timber, it comes as no surprise that Oregon is also home to a large number of private firefighting firms. And many firefighters working in these private firms are undocumented Latinos, a fact that has raised legal and safety concerns from federal auditors. Now the state of Oregon is working to fix the problem.”

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