In a striking illustration of how severe Oregon's 2026 wildfire season has become, Governor Tina Kotek invoked the state's Emergency Conflagration Act multiple times in a single week, mobilizing structural firefighting resources for incidents burning in Wheeler, Umatilla, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties.
What Is the Emergency Conflagration Act?
Oregon's Emergency Conflagration Act (ORS Chapter 476) allows the governor to mobilize the Oregon State Fire Marshal and activate mutual aid agreements with local fire departments and other states when wildfires threaten structures and local firefighting resources are insufficient to protect them. Once invoked, the act enables the deployment of structural engine strike teams and incident management resources from across Oregon and, through interstate compacts, from neighboring states including California and Washington.
Historically, the act is invoked a handful of times per fire season. Multiple invocations within a single week is exceptional and reflects the simultaneous large-fire activity currently impacting the state.
Rowe Creek Complex: Wheeler County
On July 17 at approximately 3:40 PM, Governor Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for the Rowe Creek Complex — a group of three fires including the Crosswhite, Camel Hump, and Redrock fires burning in Wheeler County. Combined, these fires had burned an estimated 15,000 acres at the time of the declaration. Structural task forces were mobilized to protect homes, ranches, and other improvements in the fire area.
Lower Dry Creek Fire: Umatilla County
The Emergency Conflagration Act was also invoked for the Lower Dry Creek Fire near Milton-Freewater in Umatilla County. This fire — which has destroyed at least five homes — received FEMA's Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG), making it the first Oregon wildfire in 2026 to qualify for that federal designation. The FMAG enables additional federal cost-sharing for fire suppression and mitigation activities. More than 1,650 residents are under Level 3 "Go Now" evacuation orders.
Akawa Butte and Brewer Fires: Deschutes and Jefferson Counties
The Emergency Conflagration Act was subsequently invoked for the Akawa Butte and Brewer fires burning in Deschutes and Jefferson counties, as those fires threatened structures in central Oregon communities. West Coast structural task forces were mobilized to support protection efforts at both incidents.
Implications for Fire Policy
The rapid pace of Conflagration Act invocations is prompting conversations among Oregon lawmakers and emergency management officials about whether the state's mutual aid infrastructure is sufficiently resourced for a future in which multiple simultaneous large-fire events may be the norm rather than the exception.
Oregon's 2026 fire season has been characterized by an early peak in fire activity driven by abnormally dry spring conditions and a series of lightning storms in July. Fire management officials at the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Oregon State Fire Marshal have both indicated that resource demand is straining available personnel and equipment statewide.
FEMA Fire Management Assistance Grants
The FMAG program, administered by FEMA, provides federal cost-sharing for state and local governments managing fires that threaten the kinds of widespread destruction that would warrant a major disaster declaration. Grant authorization also opens the door to FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Post Fire funding, which can support defensible space, ignition-resistant construction, and other long-term risk-reduction measures in affected communities.
Oregon residents seeking information on wildfire recovery assistance can contact the Oregon Office of Emergency Management at oregon.gov/OEM.