$191.5 Million is Inadequate to Pay the Crippling Cost of the 2024 Oregon Wildfire Season
Despite the $191.5 million the Legislature has allocated, it is inadequate to address the growing complexity and cost of wildfires in Oregon, says the director of the state Department of Forestry, Cal Mukumoto.
Governor Calls for an extra $130 Million in Her 2025-27 Budget
Meanwhile, Governor Tina Kotek is requesting the Legislature for an additional $130 million in her 2025-27 biennium budget recommendations to modernize wildfire readiness and mitigation programs.
This amount is in addition to a recommended $150 million to be redirected from state reserves and allocated to agencies handling wildfire suppression costs.
Meanwhile, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) together with the State Fire Marshal, has set up a workgroup to investigate alternative funding strategies that will be presented to the Legislature during its 2025 session.
Funding Shortfall Places ODF Under Pressure to Meet Vendor Payments
The increasing costs of wildfire season, together with the shortfall in funding, have placed the ODF under pressure to meet financial commitments to vendors who provide additional backup services.
However, Mukumoto says the ODF has delivered on its commitment to pay wildfire vendors asap. To date, vendors have been paid $88 million of the $191.5 million allocation by the Legislature.
Mukumoto says without vendors, the ODF could not provide wildfire protection services.
Before the $191.5 million allocation, the ODF used $40 million from the State Emergency Board and an additional $90 million from budgets of programs unrelated to ODF fire programs to meet vendor obligations.
The shortfall in funding for the wildfire season is carried as a debt by the ODF while waiting for federal reimbursements.
This method worked when the cost of wildfire seasons averaged $11 million annually – that figure has escalated to $79 million over the last 10 years.
2024 Wildfire Season Costliest-Ever
This year’s wildfire season will go down in history as one of the costliest in Oregon.
At $352 million, the 2024 season is a shattering $212 million more than the 2020 Labor Day record and far more than the funds available to the ODF. The shortfall resulted in delayed payments to vendors that provided critical firefighting services.
The executive director of the National Wildfire Suppression Association, Deborah Miley, described the delays in payments as stressful.
She said many vendors had to apply for lines of credit to meet payroll commitments. She has, however, assured Oregon of her organization’s ongoing services.
Meanwhile, Governor Kotek says she will work with legislators next year to ‘find a pathway for sustainable funding’ to cover the cost of wildfires in Oregon in future years.
Sources & References
- Press Release from Oregon Department of Forestry
- Wildfire Funding Legislation – https://oregoncounties.org/legislature…