The fires' full cost topped $350 million, Oregon's governor said. The feds will pay much of that, but she wants the state to pay its wildfire bills as soon as possible.

Following a historic wildfire season that brought several “mega fires” to Oregon, Governor Tina Kotek called for a special legislative session on Tuesday to help cover costs.

Gov. Tina Kotek is calling on the Oregon legislature to convene a special session in order to allocate funds to cover the costs of the 2024 wildfire season.

The 2024 fire season cost Oregon emergency response agencies nearly $350 million, and the state leaders are struggling to find a way to cover outstanding bills. Gov. Tina Kotek announced Tuesday following reporting from Oregon Public Broadcasting that she’ll call a special session of the Legislature on Dec.

The state owes more than $200 million to firefighters and contractors who helped put out more than 2,000 fires this summer and fall.

The 2024 fire season cost Oregon emergency response agencies nearly $350 million, and state leaders are struggling to find a way to cover outstanding bills.

State agencies say they don’t have enough money to pay for a fire season that burned almost 2 million acres. Lawmakers will step in to help next month.

Tina Kotek today said she’s calling the Legislature into a special session Dec. 12 to deal with a stack of unpaid bills that accumulated at the Oregon Department of Forestry this summer. “The unprecedented 2024 wildfire season required all of us to work together to protect life,