Editorial: Reps. McLane and Huffman help wildfire victims

Published 11:27 am Saturday, August 19, 2017

: An air tanker drops fire retardant along the leading edge of a wildfire burning near the base of Tumalo Mountain in 2016. (Ryan Brennecke / The Bulletin file photo)

Just in time for wildfire season, Oregon lawmakers have approved without objection a pair of bills that will give financial aid to some who lose their homes to wildfire. The amount isn’t huge, a maximum of $7,000 per family, but it’s far better than nothing.

The two bills, House Bill 2742 and its companion, HB 2741, are the work of Rep. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, and John Huffman, R-The Dalles. They improve upon and add money to an earlier McLane project, the Wildfire Damage Housing Relief Program.

McLane, who serves as House Republican leader, was one of three lawmakers whose legislation established the fund in 2015. It was the direct result of the Moccasin Hill Fire in Klamath County in the summer of 2014, which destroyed six homes and 14 other structures. And, it came in time to help those who lost homes in the Canyon Creek Complex fire of 2015. That fire burned 43 homes and more than 50 other structures.

The fund was not, and is not, a cash cow for rural Oregonians, however. Until the measure becomes law, it’s available only to those whose income is 75 percent or less of the federal poverty level. That means an income of just $18,450 for a family of four. Those were such low income limits that people who lost homes could not qualify for help.

The new bills are more generous, setting the cutoff line at double the federal poverty level, but not overly so.

While the fund will also hand out a bit more than before, up to $7,000 from $5,000, it’s hardly enough to do more than what lawmakers intended. It will give some lower income families cash to keep food on the table and address other needs as they work to get back on their feet. In addition, if a family receives insurance or other compensation for the loss of a house to wildfire, the grant may be reduced, and recipients must be able to verify their expenses. The companion measure adds $150,000 to the  established fund.

That’s all good news, and McLane and Huffman deserve praise for their efforts. Even better would be the lack of need for Oregonians to tap into the fund for years to come.