SALEM, Oregon—(AP) — Lawmakers in Oregon are meeting in special session Thursday to debate emergency money to settle millions of unpaid bills resulting from the state’s record wildfire season in 2024.
Oregon is one of several states dealing with high wildfire fighting costs this year, as wildfires continue to rage in California. States like North Dakota and Wyoming have asked for federal disaster declarations to assist with recovery costs, while lawmakers in New Mexico authorized millions of dollars in emergency aid for wildfire victims during a special session in July.
According to Governor Tina Kotek, the state spent more than $350 million fighting the fires that burned a record 1.9 million acres (769,000 hectares), or over 2,970 square miles (7,692 square kilometers), mostly in eastern Oregon. According to her administration, the amount has made this wildfire season the most costly in the state’s history.
The state must continue to pay the bills while it awaits reimbursement, even though the federal government will eventually cover more than half of the expenses.
In a late November news release announcing the special session, Kotek stated, “The unprecedented 2024 wildfire season required all of us to work together to protect life, land, and property, and that spirit of cooperation must continue in order to meet our fiscal responsibilities.”
This year, wildfires in the rural east of Oregon destroyed at least 42 homes and burnt vast areas of grazing and range property. The greatest fire in the country at one time was the Durkee Fire, which burned around 460 square miles (1,200 square kilometers) close to the Oregon-Idaho border.
In response to the wildfire threat, Kotek issued a state of emergency in July and used the state’s Emergency Conflagration Act a record 17 times during the season.
Kotek has requested that lawmakers authorize $218 million for the Oregon Department of the State Fire Marshal and the Oregon Department of Forestry during the special session. The funds would support the organizations’ ongoing efforts and compensate the contractors who supplied resources and assisted in battling the fires.
The extraordinary session takes place before the next legislative session begins in January, when lawmakers will be expected to identify more long-term sources of funding for wildfire expenses that have skyrocketed as drought conditions in the U.S. West have gotten worse due to climate change.
Kotek wants lawmakers to add $130 million to the state’s two-year budget cycle for wildfire preparedness and mitigation during the next legislative session. Additionally, she has asked that $150 million be sent to fire departments to assist them in funding wildfire suppression efforts, rather than being placed in the state’s rainy day reserve.
The 2020 wildfire season is still remembered as one of the greatest natural catastrophes in Oregon history, even though the 2024 season set records for both expense and land burned. Over 5,000 homes and other structures were destroyed in the 2020 Labor Day weekend flames, which also claimed nine lives.
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