Oregon Governor Kate Brown was briefed on the Cedar Creek Fire today, at the incident command post near Oakridge.
Brown said she’s pleased with the amount of collaboration among the different local, state, and federal agencies that have responded to the fire, which has now burned over 115,000 acres and is 25% contained.
At a press briefing, the governor acknowledged past confusion with alerts and evacuation notices, which she says are being streamlined by Lane County Emergency Management.
“I think it’s honestly going through more fire seasons and making sure that people are more ready,” said Brown. “We have the OR-Alert system that all Oregonians can tap into. I know in talking to city officials that social media was instrumental. But it is going to be challenging when you don’t have electricity for four days, and people have been evacuated for 48 hours.”
Brown also praised recently-enacted Senate Bill 762, which she called a “game changer.” It provided $220 million towards helping improve wildfire preparedness and increasing resiliency of at-risk areas.
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