OCEANSIDE, Oregon — Dozens of families who watched flames creep toward their doorsteps are thanking the firefighters who saved their homes.
On Sept. 8, the Happy Camp Fire crept toward The Capes, a gated community.
"At 11 or so at night, somebody pounding on your front door," described resident Richard Kittner.
A neighbor woke Kittner up that night, shouting for people to evacuate.
"And I look behind him and I could see an orange cloud and sparks," Kittner said.
"[Crews] were clocking about 50 mph east winds," said chief Tim Carpenter of the Netarts-Oceanside Fire District. "At the same time all around the county, other fires were blowing up around us."
Carpenter said with neighboring agencies preoccupied with other fires and disasters, his small crew of about 15 firefighters responded to The Capes, alone.
One of the other ongoing disasters that week was the Pike Road Fire in another part of Tillamook County, which sapped resources from agencies such as the Tillamook Fire District.
"It was an all-hands kind of deal for about a week and a half," described TFD chief Daron Bement.
Bement oversees three station departments, with a total of about 40 volunteers and four paid staff. Together they protect nearly 200 square miles of land.
Resources are also spread thin for other small fire departments in Tillamook County.
Chief James Oeder of Nestucca Rural Fire Protection District said a voter-approved levy helps fund a three-person 24-hour crew, 2 staff officers, and 25 volunteers spanning six stations. They're in charge of protecting more than 475 square miles of land.
"We don't have enough personnel to handle some of the calls we might see." Oeder said. "It's a big time commitment."
Both Oeder and Bement said in calmer times, departments can make up staffing shortfalls by assisting each other in an emergency. However, this summer's historic wildfires put a strain on resources.
The coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic downtown also make recruiting volunteer firefighters more difficult.
"It's been a challenge trying to figure out training safely," Oeder said.
Volunteer Firefighters earn a small stipend to cover costs of travel and training and are often retired or have another job.
Oeder says dynamics are shifting for those volunteers trying to balance their finances. Parents also have to navigate distance learning for kids.
Many of these challenges are why on the night of Sept. 8, Netarts-Oceanside fire crews were on their own, without available mutual aid.
"It was terrifying," Kittner described.
He watched that night as 15 firefighters fought to save his family's home. Crews put out the fire, without any homes lost.
"What would I say to those guys?" Kittner said. "Thank you for knocking that down! I have no clue how they did that."
"We're out there doing what we can, the best we can," Carpenter said in response to the community gratitude.
His peers on the frontlines echoed that.
"[It's] very rewarding being able to help people," Oeder said. "Trying to make a bad day for them a better day."
"You get a sense of a new reality I think," Kittner added. "Of how vulnerable we are."