A funding dispute is unfolding between Oregon officials and the federal government after FEMA denied Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAGs) for two of Oregon's significant 2026 wildfires — decisions that have drawn sharp criticism from U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley.

What Are FMAGs?

Fire Management Assistance Grants provide federal funding to help states cover the costs of fighting wildfires that are expected to become major disasters. FEMA must determine that a fire threatens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster before approving a grant. Once approved, the federal government covers 75% of eligible firefighting costs, significantly reducing the financial burden on state and local governments.

Grants Approved and Denied

Oregon requested FMAGs for five fires during the 2026 season. FEMA approved three:

  • Lower Dry Creek Fire (Umatilla County) — Approved; fire has since reached 100% containment
  • Akawa Butte Fire — Approved on July 22 (the second FMAG for Oregon in 2026)
  • Grasshopper Fire (Wasco County) — Approved on July 25; fire was found to threaten homes in Tygh Valley, Wamic, and Pine Hollow

However, FEMA denied FMAGs for two other significant fires:

  • East Evans Creek Fire
  • Rowe Creek Complex

FEMA found that these fires did not meet the threshold for a major disaster declaration, a determination that Oregon's congressional delegation is challenging.

Senate Response

Senators Wyden and Merkley have publicly challenged FEMA's criteria, arguing that the current standards fail to account for the cumulative burden on state and local firefighting resources when dozens of fires are burning simultaneously. In a state already strained by 11 Conflagration Act invocations and 30 active large fires, the senators argue, even fires that might not individually qualify as major disasters contribute to a crisis that demands federal support.

"When a state is managing this level of fire activity — over 1.7 million acres burned, thousands under evacuation orders — the question shouldn't be whether each individual fire clears a threshold," one senator's office stated. "The question is whether Oregon has the resources to protect its people."

Broader Policy Context

The grant dispute reflects an ongoing tension in federal wildfire policy: the FMAG system was designed for discrete, large-scale fire events, but modern wildfire seasons increasingly feature dozens of simultaneous fires that collectively overwhelm states even if no single fire is individually catastrophic enough to trigger federal assistance thresholds.

Fire policy experts have called for reform of the FMAG criteria to better reflect cumulative impacts on state resources. Oregon's situation in 2026 may become a case study in the need for a more flexible federal approach to fire funding during unprecedented fire seasons.