Oregon requests a federal wildfire emergency declaration

SALEM – Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Public Assistance Program asking that it declare a major disaster due to one of the most devastating wildfire seasons in Oregon history. The request applies to six counties. They are Umatilla, Gilliam, Grant, Jefferson, Wasco, and Wheeler counties.

If the declaration is approved it provides supplemental grants for state, Tribal, local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations for costs incurred for responding to and recovering from wildfires between July 10 and Sept. 27. The letter states those counties experienced significant damage and destruction to utility poles and lines resulting in power, communication, and internet outages; disruptions to travel and the ability to conduct emergency responses; and mass sheltering needs for medically fragile, older adults and isolated people without power.

In the letter, Kotek also requested that the Biden Administration waive the state’s share of the cost for emergency work in response to the disaster. It stated that the rural counties impacted by the wildfires have limited resources to support the standard share of the cost and the magnitude of state resources deployed across Oregon means state funding is insufficient to reimburse the impacted communities.

A record 1.9 million acres burned this wildfire season. Oregon’s 10-year average is 640 thousand acres per season. In 2024, the fires destroyed at least 42 homes and 132 other structures and caused sever disruptions to transportation, utility infrastructure, and social services. In addition, Kotek wrote that ranchers in Eastern Oregon lost access to critical resources for their livestock, leading to long-term challenges in restoring the land as well as significant lost revenue. The federal government typically takes about six weeks after the submission of the request to respond.

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Elkhorn Media Group

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