Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek ended her listening tour of the state's 36 counties Thursday by visiting communities in Lane County impacted by the 2020 Labor Day Wildfires.
Kotek’s final stop on her statewide tour included Leaburg, an unincorporated community on the McKenzie River that was devastated by the Holiday Farm Fire.
During a press conference held Thursday afternoon at the Lane County Public Service Building, Kotek described her conversations with residents as “sobering,” saying local businesses especially are struggling to rebuild.
"That was a really helpful conversation that made me think, what can we do as a state to fill in some gaps there,” she said. “My commitment is to make sure those communities impacted by the 2020 wildfires do recover. And we are still on that path. And for small businesses in particular, it is a very tough recovery.”
Kotek said wildfire relief, especially for groups that the federal government hasn’t assisted, will be a top priority in the next legislative session.
She said she’s also focused on housing overall, such as improving the stock for coastal communities that depend on tourism, but have nowhere for service workers to live. She said she’s also looking to boost resources to build more low-income options.
She said she’s hopeful that over the next few years, the state will meet her housing goal of 36,000 new units a year.
