Governor Kotek Signs Special Session Bill to Address 2024 Wildfire Costs
By Garrett Christensen on Monday, December 16th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
SALEM – On Friday, December 13, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek officially signed Senate Bill 5801 following the bill’s passing during the December 12 special legislative session. The bill allocates $218 million dollars to the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) and Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to help offset costs incurred during the 2024 wildfire season. ODF will receive $191.5 million dollars and OSFM $26.6 million dollars. Governor Kotek’s office issued the following release fully explaining the bill’s passing and what it means for the state:
(Release from the Office of Governor Tina Kotek)
A record 1.9 million acres burned this wildfire season, far exceeding the state’s 10-year average of 640,000 acres per season and incurring gross costs upwards of $350 million. While more than half of the costs will eventually be reimbursed by the federal government, the funds are needed to pay the firefighters, local fire services, and vendors who responded when Oregon called.
“This summer’s wildfire season called for sacrifice, courage, and cooperation from everyone involved. It was an all hands on deck effort to protect life, land, and property,” Governor Kotek said. “I am grateful to legislators for taking swift action to ensure the state’s fire season costs are addressed and the bills are paid. Next year, I look forward to working with legislators to ensure the state finds a pathway for sustainable funding to cover wildfire costs in the years ahead.”
“This summer, the Governor made clear the state’s commitment to protecting Oregonians, their communities and our state’s natural resources,” said State Forester Cal Mukumoto, director of the Oregon Department of Forestry. “In this special session, the Governor and the Legislature underscored their commitment, and for that we’re incredibly appreciative. As soon as funds are available to us, it will be all hands on deck for our finance team to get payments to the vendors who provided critical services all summer. This will be our top priority until we get through all the invoices pending in the system.”
“I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the firefighters, ranchers, landowners, and countless others for their incredible effort during a record-setting season,” State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “We are thankful to have received the funding we requested. It reimburses our agency for the money paid to local fire agencies who stepped up to help their fellow Oregonians. We continue to pay these agencies as the invoices are received. This funding is critical to sustaining essential programs and services that protect Oregonians. We are working alongside our partners to find solutions to fix Oregon’s wildfire funding problem.”
On November 26, the Governor announced that she was using her constitutional authority to call a special session of the Oregon legislature for lawmakers to appropriate funds to pay for the historic 2024 wildfire season.
The Governor’s Recommended Budget for the 2025-27 biennium identifies the need for at least an additional $130 million through new revenue to modernize and fully fund the state’s wildfire readiness and mitigation programs on an ongoing basis. This direction is in addition to the specific recommendation for $150 million to be redirected from going into state reserves and instead be appropriated to the agencies to pay for wildfire suppression costs as needed.
