Oregon House Republicans support major disaster declaration

By House Republican Leader’s Office,

SALEM, Ore. – Oregon House Republicans released the following letter urging the Biden administration to issue a major disaster declaration for Oregon due to the historically devastating wildfire season this year. Wildfires burned through 1.9 million acres of land this year, a record for Oregon.

“The requested federal assistance through FEMA’s Public Assistance Program is crucial for our rural communities’ recovery. These counties have limited resources to support the standard cost-share requirements, and the scale of this disaster has stretched state funding beyond its capacity to adequately reimburse these communities. The magnitude of this disaster, combined with the limited resources of our rural counties, makes federal assistance absolutely essential for recovery and rebuilding efforts,” said House Republican Leader Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River).

The letter can be found here or below.

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of the House Republican Caucus, we write to express our strong support for Governor Tina Kotek’s request for a federal major disaster declaration for the State of Oregon following one of the most devastating wildfire seasons in our state’s history.

The 2024 wildfire season has had an unprecedented impact on our rural communities, with a staggering 1.9 million acres burned – nearly triple our state’s 10-year average of 640,000 acres. Six counties – Gilliam, Grant, Jefferson, Umatilla, Wasco, and Wheeler – have experienced severe infrastructure damage to the electrical grid, resulting in widespread power, communication, and internet outages that have severely disrupted emergency response capabilities and essential services.

The impact on our communities has been profound:

• 42 homes and 132 other structures destroyed
• Critical transportation infrastructure severely compromised
• Extensive damage to utility systems
• Significant disruption to social services
• Devastating effects on Eastern Oregon ranchers, including loss of access to vital resources for livestock
• Disrupted or unavailable mass sheltering for medically fragile, older adults, and isolated individuals

Our emergency response teams have worked tirelessly, with Governor Kotek invoking the Emergency Conflagration Act a record 17 times to mobilize structural firefighting resources. The Oregon Department of Forestry has deployed thousands of wildland firefighting personnel across affected areas. However, given the history making severity of these wildfires, this is not enough.

The requested federal assistance through FEMA’s Public Assistance Program is crucial for our rural communities’ recovery. These counties have limited resources to support the standard cost-share requirements, and the scale of this disaster has stretched state funding beyond its capacity to adequately reimburse these communities. The magnitude of this disaster, combined with the limited resources of our rural counties, makes federal assistance absolutely essential for recovery and rebuilding efforts.

Thank you for your consideration of this urgent matter.