Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley
today announced that the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) will
receive more than $43 million in additional recovery funds from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for continued hazard tree and debris removal
after the 2020 fire disasters.
“Recovery efforts from the catastrophic 2020 fire season
have been steady, but too many small communities have carried the challenging
and expensive burden of taking immediate action to clean up and clear roads
after the fires were out,” said Wyden, who fought hard for federal funding to
cover the immense recovery costs after the 2020 fires. “I am gratified to see
additional dollars come into our state to cover crucial hazard tree and debris
removal so that Oregonians can safely concentrate putting resources toward
rebuilding our communities.”“Oregon’s devastating 2020 wildfire season took a heavy
emotional and financial toll on many of our small communities, and we need to
continue to do everything we can help them recover and rebuild,” said Merkley.
“I’m glad this federal funding is headed to ODOT to help ease the expensive
burden communities took on to pick up the pieces and move forward. I will keep
working to ensure Oregon communities have the tools they need to recover and
become more resilient in the face of future wildfires while we take on the
climate chaos fueling these disasters in the first place.”
These FEMA dollars come in addition to the more than $218
million in federal reimbursement for hazard tree and debris removal in Marion,
Lane and Jackson Counties following an increased FEMA cost share formula for
all major emergency and disaster events, such as the 2020 fire events in those
counties.
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