Capital Press
Oregon lawmakers have approved money to start paying wildfire costs and helping homeowners rebuild, add workers to process unemployment claims and update technology and expand capacity for coronavirus testing.
The Emergency Board meeting Friday lasted more than three hours. The board's 20 members handle budget matters between sessions of the full Legislature.
Though the board has met monthly since the 2020 session adjourned March 5 — and twice in August — Friday's session was the first after the board committed all of Oregon's $1.4 billion share of federal pandemic aid under the CARES Act.
The board enabled the Oregon Department of Forestry to tap $75 million, instead of the original $20 million, to start paying suppression costs of the wildfires that have swept through about 1 million acres of forests since Labor Day. As many as three dozen fires burned at once across Oregon.
Recent rains have helped firefighters make gains. But according to the agency, six major fires — each 100,000 acres or greater — continued to burn at varying degrees of containment. The official death toll is nine.
Prior to Labor Day, 2020 wildfire suppression costs were estimated at $31 million, with the state on the hook for about $24.5 million after federal aid.
Officials have said the costs of Oregon wildfire suppression will approach $100 million. Though about half that total will be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, State Forester Peter Daugherty said his agency will have to pay the bills pending reimbursement.
"With this kind of a fire season, we have started conversations with our federal partners about completely revamping the approach we take with the expected amount of cost processing that we are going to have to do," Daugherty said.