President Joseph Biden approved a major disaster declaration on Thursday to help five Oregon counties — Gilliam, Grant, Umatilla, Wasco and Wheeler — recover from wildfires from July 10 to Aug. 23.

The declaration triggers the release of federal funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

“This is good news to start 2025 that helps residents and small businesses,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, in a news release.

He added that proactive steps also are needed, such as higher firefighter pay and prescribed burns in wetter and cooler months.

Sen. Jeff Merkley said the summer was devastating for many Oregonians and the state’s economy, with massive areas of land burned, dozens of homes destroyed, miles of fences lost, rangeland scorched and cattle killed.

“This federal disaster designation is essential for the state, local and tribal governments in several counties in Oregon to continue to recover and rebuild,” Merkley said.

Kotek’s request

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek sought the disaster declaration in a letter to Biden in October.

She asked for the declaration to cover costs incurred for responding and recovering from wildfires for state, tribal, local governments and certain nonprofits.

Kotek’s request was for a longer time period, from July 10 to Sept. 7, and it also included Jefferson County, which wasn’t part of Biden’s disaster declaration.

Oregon’s entire Congressional delegation backed Kotek’s request for a disaster declaration in a letter to the president.

“Central and Eastern Oregon experienced intense heat waves this summer, which dried out vegetation and created extreme fire risk on the landscape. Severe lightning storms ignited a large number of fires, and windy conditions allowed many of those fires to spread rapidly,” the letter stated.

“These fires have also created profound hardship for our ranchers, as they destroyed private and public grazing lands and cut off access to essential resources for livestock,” the letter added.

A record wildfire year

Oregon wildfires burned a record 1.9 million acres in 2024, far exceeding the state’s 10-year average of 640,000 acres per year.

The fires destroyed 42 homes and 132 other structures, injured 26 civilians and fire responders and led to the death of an air tanker pilot.

State costs from the wildfires exceeded $350 million, more than double Oregon’s next most expensive wildfire season.

The severity of the fire season meant the state had significant delays in payments to firefighting companies that kept communities safe during the summer.

The state House of Representatives and Senate met Dec. 12 to approve an additional $191.5 million to cover costs associated with the 2024 fire season.

Oregon officials have said they are trying to dedicate more funding to prevent, fight and mitigate the impacts of wildfires, which are growing in complexity and cost.

More wildfires coverage

With new funding, Oregon pays wildland firefighting vendors

Federal government sues PacifiCorp over 2020 Archie Creek Fire

Oregon Legislature overwhelmingly approves wildfire funding

Oregon seeks federal disaster declaration for wildfires

THE YEAR OF THE WILDFIRE: 30,000 firefighters do battle across 7 million acres of the West