OR Dept. of Forestry in Red After Record-Setting Fire Season

Oregon officials say 2024 was the worst fire season in modern history, going back at least 30 years.

   Oregon's Department of Forestry Spent $260 million on firefighting

Nearly 1.9 million acres statewide burned in 2024, nearly twice the next highest total in three decades.

Oregon's Department of Forestry spent $260 million fighting those fires, and now the state has approved a $47.5 million dollar emergency allotment to help them defer costs.  The money was appropriated via the state's Emergency Board.

However, several state legislators, including Representatives Mark Owens, who is on the Emergency Board. and Mark Evans, say the state's current model for fighting fires needs an overhaul.

They say the state needs to modernize or rethink the way they fight megafires.  According to KGW Portland:

"Even with the emergency allocation of $47.5 million, state analysts with the Legislative Fiscal Office project ODF will be insolvent by November without additional help, including a payroll loan and executive action."

Officials say there are numerous contractors with whom the state utilized to help fight the fires who still have not been paid yet. And, some projects are being deferred to steer the money to the Dept. of Forestry.

Get our free mobile app

A $5 million-dollar renovation at the Port of Portland has been set aside, and those funds will be allocated to Forestry. Normally, on average, it costs the state about $100 million to fund firefighting efforts.