In 2021 alone, natural disasters caused $145 billion worth of damage across the United States — and experts are forecasting above-normal hurricane and wildfire seasons this year.

Since 2012, Oregon Products has been working to ensure that disaster cleanup professionals, volunteers and community members have the tools they need to get back on their feet. The company's Disaster Response Team, which is comprised of Oregon specialists, brings trailers stocked with tools and replacement parts to affected areas to help service and safely repair the chainsaws in an all-out community cleanup effort.

Over the last decade, the Disaster Response Team has volunteered in numerous relief efforts.

• In 2012, the team sharpened, repaired or replaced more than 1,000 saw chains and chainsaw parts as crews worked to repair the damage done by Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast.
• In the aftermath of Hurricane Laura in Texas and Louisiana, the team sharpened more than 2,700 saw chains and repaired almost 500 more during their two weeks in 2020.
• Over the course of nine days in 2020, the team sharpened and repaired nearly 1,000 chains and fueled and oiled firefighters' machines during Oregon's wildfires.
• In 2021, the team headed to Hammond, La., and spent 15 days supporting cleanup efforts after Hurricane Ida, repairing 462 chains and sharpening 3,654 chains. A couple of months later, they headed to Mayfield, Ky., to help with recovery in the wake of a rare December tornado that ripped through the region.

"The work that firefighters and cleanup crews do in the aftermath of a natural disaster is crucial, and they need the right tools to get the job done," says Paul Tonnesen, CEO of Oregon Tool. "By sharpening chains and repairing chainsaws, we're leveraging our resources for a higher purpose — to spur an important aspect of the recovery in communities both for the people and their environment."

Oregon's Disaster Response Team is part of the company's "t.r.e.e. Initiative." The initiative expands on Oregon's core value of global stewardship and its devotion to making a positive impact on people, communities and landscapes around the world.

For more information about the t.r.e.e. Initiative and the Disaster Response Team, visit treeinitiative.oregontool.com.

This story also appears on Forestry Equipment Guide.

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