A new bill would prepare Oregon’s fairgrounds for use as evacuation sites.
House Bill 2948 would provide $20 million in grants to improve power, water and internet infrastructure at fairgrounds, which are sometimes used to shelter people who’ve had to flee wildfires.
State Representative Charlie Conrad is a chief sponsor of the bill. The Lane County Republican said the aging infrastructure at some fairgrounds has faltered in emergency situations.
“If you've been evacuated, and all you're worrying about is using a restroom, and the plumbing isn't functioning right, you can't really work on everything else that you do during the disaster—contacting friends, family, processing the event that's going on.”
Conrad said the grants would most help rural sites that are publicly-owned and lack funding from their counties. He hopes the state will be able to distribute the money starting this summer. A hearing for the bill has not yet been scheduled.
