SALEM – The state on Monday yanked the contracts for 16 private sector fire crews – affecting more than 300 people – because of falsified training and identification records by the company that operated them, Department of Forestry officials said.

The state also terminated contracts for a second business, which oversees two 20-person firefighting crews based in Klamath Falls, for failing to establish a proper dispatch base.

The two moves are a result of stepped-up scrutiny of registration paperwork connected to the private firefighting industry, said Don Moritz, the state’s fire contract manager.

”This investigation prevents inadequately trained firefighters from being put in harm’s way,” he said.

The contract cancellations affect the remainder of the 2004 fire season.

Moritz said the canceled contracts won’t leave the Pacific Northwest undermanned as the region nears the peak of wildfire season: Another 269 crews, each of those with 20 people, stand available this summer.

However, additional disciplinary actions could shrink that number further.

Another 10 crews are under investigation – all of those based in Central Oregon – because companies may have falsely declared access to dispatch and staging sites, which are required for each crew, Mortiz said.