The Bureau of Land Management has given a wildland fire engine to the Alfalfa, Ore., Fire District.

The Bureau of Land Management has transferred a wildland fire engine to the Alfalfa Fire District to enhance its wildland firefighting capabilities.

The community of Alfalfa is 20 miles east of Bend.

The engine was transferred under the Bureau’s Rural Fire Readiness Program, which is designed to provide equipment to local wildland firefighters at no cost. It will be stationed at Alfalfa and available for 18 trained firefighters to operate in the district, which spans 68 square miles.

The agency also announced it is transferring a water tender to the Wheeler County Fire and Rescue Rangeland Fire Protection Association. The tender will be stationed in Wheeler County and rotated seasonally between the towns of Fossil and Spray.

Chad LaVallee, chief of the Alfalfa Fire District, said the Rural Fire Readiness Program as a “huge asset” to small departments.