Oregon's Legislature approved nearly $123 million in emergency funding in September 2026 to help cover the costs of the state's most expensive and destructive wildfire season on record. The Oregon Legislature's Joint Emergency Board — which has authority to allocate funding when the full Legislature is not in session — agreed to send $108 million to the Oregon Department of Forestry and $15 million to the Department of the State Fire Marshal.

The approval came after wildfires scorched more than 2.5 million acres and cost the state $236.2 million through late August. Final suppression costs are expected to reach $350 million by the end of the season — which would surpass Oregon's previous record of $318 million set in 2024, when 1.9 million acres burned.

The Scale of the 2026 Season

Oregon's 2026 fire season was declared officially the largest on record, with more than 1,400 fires having burned upwards of 2.3 million acres — an area larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined — and the season arrived ahead of its typical August-September peak.

A Legislative Fiscal Office report released this month noted that the start of Oregon's 2026 wildfire season "was both early and aggressive, driven by record-low snowpack, record-high temperatures, and early-season drought conditions." The unseasonably dry landscape in March and April led to dozens of early-season fires before the traditional fire season even began.

The Big Grass Fire in Malheur County — ignited in late July — became the largest wildfire in Oregon history, burning approximately 578,637 acres before reaching 93% containment in late August. The Rowe Creek Complex in Central Oregon burned nearly 374,000 acres before reaching near-containment in mid-September.

Funding Breakdown and Borrowing

In addition to the $123 million in direct allocations, the Oregon Department of Forestry will borrow $150 million from the Oregon State Treasury through three loans over the next three months to maintain solvency through the end of the year. The agency was able to pay for nearly $79 million of its costs through federal recovery funding, grants, and other contributions.

The State Fire Marshal responded to 12 destructive wildfires this year at a cost of more than $50 million. The agency's $15 million portion of the emergency allocation will cover funding gaps from those responses.

Federal Reimbursement Lag Frustrates Lawmakers

The funding discussion highlighted a persistent frustration in Oregon: the federal government is typically expected to reimburse the state for a significant portion of large-fire costs, but those reimbursements can take years to arrive. FEMA still owes Oregon approximately $92 million in fire management and public assistance grants from 2020 alone.

"Through the course of today's allocations, we are going to be taking general fund dollars away from our schools, from healthcare, from housing, from public safety, while we are waiting for reimbursement from the federal government," said Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis.

Federal reimbursement for 75% of disaster costs through FEMA public assistance grants typically takes two to three years to be fully released, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry — a timeline that places significant strain on state finances in the interim.

Looking Ahead

Lawmakers and fire officials are now turning attention to the question of what 2027 may bring. The Legislative Fiscal Office warned that Oregon's next wildfire season could be even more severe if drought conditions persist and fuel loads — now elevated by drought-stressed and insect-killed trees — continue to accumulate. Policy discussions around forest management, prescribed fire expansion, and long-term suppression funding are expected to be central issues when the full Legislature reconvenes.