Several state lawmakers are calling on FEMA to reverse its denial of assistance for two wildfires in eastern and southern Oregon.
The Rowe Creek Complex, burning north of Prineville, has grown to more than 300,000 acres. The East Evans Creek Fire, in Jackson County, has burned more than 15,000 acres. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek applied for wildfire suppression assistance grants for five fires. She announced the agency approved three requests on Wednesday.
State Reps. Emerson Levy, a Democrat from Bend, and Vicki Breese-Iverson, a Republican from Prineville, argued the two denied fires meet the threshold for federal help.
In a statement, Breese-Iverson said her constituents “did everything right and FEMA still shut the door.” Oregon has 30 days to appeal FEMA’s denials.
In a joint statement, the two House members said disasters and recovery impact everyone.
“Central Oregon and every community battling these fires deserve the same support, the same urgency, and the same respect from the federal government,” they said. “We stand together as a state, and we're not going to stop pushing until every community gets the funding it needs."
Sen. David Brock Smith, a Republican from Port Orford whose district includes Douglas County just north of the Evans Creek Fire, also shared a statement calling on FEMA to reverse course.
“I echo my colleagues, ‘when disaster hits one part of Oregon, it hits all of us’,” Smith said. “I urge FEMA to reverse these denials and approve FMAG funding immediately, so our firefighters, communities, their residents and the businesses that support them receive the assistance they urgently need.”
In a news release Wednesday, Kotek’s office said she had 30 days to appeal the denial and the state was still considering its options.
