Oregon Public Broadcasting

Public flags are flying at half-staff Monday across Oregon, in memory of the firefighters and crew who died last week fighting a California fire.

The flags will remain at half staff all week. It's one of a number of ways the state is mourning the deaths, as Ethan Lindsey reports.

Witnesses told federal officials the military-style helicopter struggled in take-off last week, before hitting a tree and falling to earth.

Seven of the eight firefighters who died in the crash were Oregonians. And the pilot, from Lostine, also perished.

Four injured crewmembers were hospitalized in California.

Jeanne Klein is a spokeswoman for Grayback Forestry, the Merlin-based private firefighting company where 11 of the crew worked.

Klein says after the accident, Grayback pulled all its firefighters off the front lines.

Jeanne Klein: “Two crews came back in, to Merlin here, they will not be fighting that complex for a while. And these crews that came back were actually on a different fire. I believe the employees are having a closed-door employee meeting to bring everyone together.”

Firefighters have setup several organizations to collect contributions in support of the families of the victims.