SALEM, Ore. (KOIN) — Though the 2020 wildfires are widely (and correctly) remembered as devastating to Oregon, the fact is wildfires in 2024 burned more than 2 million acres in the state, more than in 2020.
Gov. Tina Kotek called a special legislative session beginning later in the week to have lawmakers approve the bill for fighting those wildfires this past summer. And it’s a big tab.
The IOU for fighting the 2024 wildfires is around $350 million. While most of the firefighters were paid, KOIN 6 News learned the contractors who hired them are owed money. The federal government will eventually pay more than half, but Kotek wants the lawmakers to approve more than $200 million to the Department of Forestry and the Oregon Fire Marshal’s Office, who will then pay the contractors…