Press Conference Today: The Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Governor Kate Brown's will hold a press conference today at 1:00pm to provide updates on the fires and evacuations happening throughout the state. You can watch the press conference via YouTube and can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyrUgiOY9kM&feature=youtu.be
Gov. Brown request for a federal disaster declaration was approved late last night by FEMA. The declaration will result in federal financial assistance for disaster response, recovery, and mitigation against future disasters. You can read the full letter here. The assistance is for the counties of Clackamas, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Tillamook, and Washington. Additional designations may be made at a later date.
The Governor’s office has put together a Wildfire Resources page that you can access from the Governor’s home page and will continue to update this as more resources become available.
 STATE OF OREGON BATTLES RECORD 900,000 ACRES OF WILDFIRES, URGES PUBLIC TO STAY AWAY FROM FIRES, HEED EVACUATION WARNINGS
Firefighters re prioritizing life safety as they battle a record 900,000 acres of wildfires across Oregon. The public and the news media are urged to stay away from active and evacuated wildfire areas, to obey road closure barricades, and to monitor and follow evacuation orders.
An estimated 500,000 Oregonians have been evacuated and that number continues to grow.
In response to reports of price gouging in lodging rates and other essential consumer goods and services for Oregonians who have evacuated fire areas, Gov. Brown issued Executive Order 20-42, to help protect consumers from price gouging. This order also prevents of other essential consumer goods and services.
State emergency management officials encourage people affected by the current fires, whether or not they have evacuated, to register on The American Red Cross Safe and Well Website. This helpful tool can bring relief to people looking for loved ones and help inform search efforts.
OEM Director Andrew Phelps said the extensive number of fires, and their severity, have tapped out statewide resources. The agency is reaching out to emergency management agencies across the country for resources, assistance and support. Resource requests are initiated through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a national interstate mutual aid agreement enabling states to share resources during times of disaster.
Visit wildfire.oregon.gov to learn about an interactive fire and hotspot map, road closures, air quality index, emergency lodging and more.
For additional information, the media and public are encouraged to follow Oregon Office of Emergency Management social media accounts on Twitter @OregonOEM and facebook.com/OMDOEM
State agencies have posted videos and high resolution photos for news media and public use. See the Flickr account for the Oregon Department of Transportation and the visual information website for the Oregon National Guard.
 From David Gerstenfeld Acting Director of the Oregon Employment Department
Dear Oregonian,
Today, we launched online self-certification for the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program. The temporary emergency program funded by FEMA provides an additional $300 per week to people who are out of work and receiving unemployment benefits due to COVID-19. To meet FEMA requirements for the program, claimants must certify that they are receiving unemployment benefits for COVID-19-related reasons.
Please note that self-certification is required by FEMA in order to receive LWA benefits. The Employment Department plans to start providing LWA funds to qualified Oregonians by the end of September.
Starting today, you can self-certify for LWA using the Online Claims System. The option to certify over the phone will be available soon. However, we strongly encourage you to certify online to avoid long delays on our phone lines. For step-by-step instructions on how to self-certify, visit https://unemployment.oregon.gov/workers/step-by-step-guides.
As a reminder, you automatically qualify for LWA if you:
- Have received unemployment benefits from July 26, 2020, through September 5, 2020
- Self-certify they are unemployed or partially unemployed due to disruptions caused by COVID-19
Self-certification is a new one-time step for people receiving regular UI, PEUC, or Extended Benefits. For claimants receiving PUA, there is no need to self-certify: you self-certified when you first applied for PUA benefits.
Self-certification is a new one-time step for people receiving regular UI, PEUC, or Extended Benefits. For claimants receiving PUA, there is no need to self-certify: you self-certified when you first applied for PUA benefits.
LWA is retroactive to eligible claimants for the following weeks ending:
- August 1, 2020
- August 8, 2020
- August 15, 2020
- August 22, 2020
- August 29, 2020
- September 5, 2020
FEMA has notified states that the final week of LWA payments will be for the week ending September 5. Because the FEMA funds were limited, we cannot extend payments beyond that date. If you become unemployed after the week ending August 1, 2020, you can only receive LWA for weeks when you qualify for unemployment benefits and meet LWA eligibility requirements.
If you have questions, please get in touch with us via our Contact Us form. Through these trying times, we are happy to help serve Oregonians as best we can.
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