December 13, 2024 3:40 a.m.

Republican legislative leaders reacted following a Special Session of the Oregon State Legislature on Thursday to authorize funds to pay for outstanding bills incurred by the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s office during the 2024 wildfire season.

House Republican Leader Christine Drazan addressed the passage of SB 5801, which was passed to pay for those costs. Drazan said, “I am grateful for legislative leaders and members of the legislature for coming together in a bipartisan manner to meet our obligation to pay our firefighters for helping keep our communities safe this year”. Drazan said, “We look forward to the work ahead to address how we manage our public lands and mitigate future wildfires”.

Senate Republican Leader Daniel Bonham said, “While it was necessary to address the state’s unpaid bills, this special session only treated the symptoms of a much larger problem. The real issue is decades of agency mismanagement and ineffective policies that fail to address the root causes of these devastating fires”. Bonham said, “ODF’s leadership must improve its performance and take responsibility for allowing these issues to persist. Governor Kotek must step up and use her leadership to drive the necessary reforms at the agency so we’re not constantly reacting after disaster strikes”.

The legislation passed allocated $218 million to cover the costs of this year’s wildfires. A record over 1.9 million acres burned during the 2024 wildfire season.