The Oregon Legislature overwhelmingly approved $218 million in additional funding on Dec. 12 to cover the 2024 fire season, including to pay firefighting crews waiting months for compensation after keeping communities safe.

The move came with strong bipartisan support during a one-day special session. The Senate voted 25-2 in favor and the House voted 42-2.

Costs this wildfire season exceeded $350 million as a record 1.9 million acres burned — far exceeding the state’s 10-year average of 640,000 acres per year.

Thousands of acres of grazing and timber lands in Eastern Oregon were scorched.

The 2024 wildfires ended up costing more than double Oregon’s next most expensive fire season.

Half of the costs will eventually be reimbursed by the federal government.

Senate Bill 5801 provides $191.5 million to the Oregon Department of Forestry and $26.6 million for the Oregon State Fire Marshal.

Approaching the problem differently

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed the bill Dec. 13.

“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,” Kotek said, in a statement.

Her 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.

That’s in addition to a 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.

House Majority Leader Ben Bowman (D-Tigard, Metzger and south Beaverton) said that the state needs to approach the problem differently.

“As we continue to confront the climate crisis, we must reframe our thinking around wildfire prevention and emergency preparedness,” he added, in a news release.

Establishing a dedicated fund

House Republican Leader Christine Drazan called for the state to establish a dedicated wildfire emergency fund and said bills shouldn’t have been unpaid.

“The unprecedented scale and intensity of recent wildfires have made it clear that Oregon requires a more robust and reliable funding mechanism to protect our communities and support our firefighters,” Drazan said, in a prepared statement.

“This fund would serve as a dedicated resource to support rapid deployment of firefighting resources, ensure timely compensation for our firefighters and maintain Oregon’s emergency response readiness,” she added.

Drazan also said that the state should work more proactively with federal agencies to manage lands and stop wildfires before they become megafires.

Fire season background

Wildfires this season destroyed at least 42 homes and 132 other structures and caused severe disruptions and damage to transportation facilities, utility infrastructure and natural resource economies.

In July, Kotek declared a state of emergency in response to the threat of wildfire. She invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act a state record 17 times to mobilize structural firefighting resources and thousands of wildland firefighting personnel.

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