Oregon's Congressional Delegation Pushes for Major Disaster Declaration As Wildfires’ Toll Grows
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s entire bipartisan Congressional delegation, including Representative Peter DeFazio, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, and Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Greg Walden, Kurt Schrader, and Suzanne Bonamici, today requested rapid approval of Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s request for major disaster relief amid unprecedented wildfire damage across the state.
“This year, more than 1 million acres of land in Oregon have been burned, and at least ten Oregonians have tragically lost their lives to the fires, with the death toll expected to increase. For comparison, an average total area of approximately 500,000 acres have burned each year of the last decade during a typical fire season,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to President Trump.
Oregon’s congressional delegation united last week to push for White House approval of the state’s request for federal disaster funding. The request was approved roughly a day later, providing critical FEMA assistance to support Oregon communities and first responders.
The Lawmakers' bicameral letter urging expedited approval of governor’s major disaster relief requestletter is available here.
  KXCR Radio with Sen. Arnie Roblan, State Senate District 5: Frontline Discussion on Oregon Counties, Fairgrounds and Wildfires of 2020
Senator Roblan will have a full hour of discussion next Tuesday, September 15 at 5 p.m. with Oregon’s County Commissioners and statewide officials on the latest government responses to the wildfires in District 5 and across the state.
In in this type of wildfire emergency, county emergency managers and their offices are responsible for the response in each county. Getting feedback directly from our county officials is the best way to understand and quickly address the immediate needs of our diverse communities.
Although the wildfire emergency has exacerbated the housing crisis that we were already experiencing, Oregonians want to help. We will have a conversation about how we are re-purposing our state grounds to address the biggest evacuation in history of the state.
Guest speakers include (from top left to right):
- Senator Arnie Roblan, State Senate District 5
- Linn County Board of Commissioners, Roger Nyquist
- Coos County Board of Commissioners, Melissa Cribbins
- Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, Lianne Thompson
- Lincoln County Board of Commissioners, Kaety Jacobson
- Yamhill County Board of Commissioners, Casey Kulla
- Tillamook County Board of Commissioners, David Yamamoto
- Former State Representative, Oregon State Parks and Vice Chair, Oregon State Fair Council, Vicki Berger
About the KXCR 90.7 Radio Fireside Chat:
When the coronavirus hit us back in March, it became obvious that this would present a challenge unlike any we have ever faced Oregon. The impact of COVID-19 also cast a bright light on Oregon’s social, regional and racial divide. So we created the KXCR 90.7 Fireside Chats -- designed to inform and educate our audience about issues faced by our state leaders in addressing the unforeseen challenges faced by workers and businesses most impacted by the pandemic. We will now utilize the program to gather more information about wildfires and access state, local and tribal government resources.
What: KXCR 90.7 FM "Fireside (Weekly) Chats"
When: Tuesday, September 15
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Join us live on Twitter and Instagram or tune into on KXCR ttps://www.twitch.tv/kxcr_streaming or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kxcr90.7/
News, Resources and Updates
- Please continue to share the site, https://wildfire.oregon.gov/ as a “clearinghouse” of information related to the fires. Our executive branch agencies continue to ask for help sharing information from official resources and encouraging your communities to do the same.
- A variety of news sources, including The Guardian has covered the disinformation around the spreading of wildfires and how they have been debunked. A Clackamas County Sheriff Deputy is on leave after supporting those rumors and a Sheriff’s Captain shared that information in a meeting of the Clackamas Co. Commissioners.
- The Portland Mercury put together a list of ways to help Oregonians affected by wildfires across the state.
- If you’re on Twitter, the Oregon Office of Emergency Management put together a list of accounts to follow for accurate/reliable information.
- This article does a great job of discussing how to stay safe during wildfires put together by a fantastic science journalist, Emma Ross. She also compiled a thread on twitter on Oregon’s forest management in response to a recent opinion piece on the “cause” of these fires.
- In her news conference, Gov. Brown announced that she asked the Ford Family Foundation, the Meyer Memorial Trust and the Oregon Community Foundation to establish the 2020 Community Rebuilding Fund to plan medium and long-term recovery.
- OED selected Fast Enterprises to help with their technology update.
- Governor Brown issued notice of line-item vetoes related to budget bills passed in the Second Legislative Session. Here is her release and here is her letter to the Senate President and the Speaker.
- A court blocked Trump’s attempt to discount undocumented individuals from Congressional representation counts.
- Which Oregon wildfires are still growing? New details, maps, evacuation information for biggest blazes
- 10 Dead, 22 Missing as Oregon Reels From Immense Wildfires
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Judge says Oregon Republican Party didn’t miss voter guide deadline, statement must be included
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Gov. Kate Brown, citing Oregon wildfire emergency, plans to veto
- In Oregon, you can vote a ballot for your home address, even if your home burned and you’re staying elsewhere
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