As Oregon braces for what forecasters are calling a potentially severe 2026 wildfire season, state lawmakers and Governor Tina Kotek have taken steps to shore up the financial machinery behind the state's fire response — recognizing that the cost of suppression can consume hundreds of millions of dollars in a bad year and threaten essential state services if emergency funds run dry.

House Bill 3940 Creates Dedicated Wildfire Fund

Among the most significant actions was the passage of House Bill 3940 in the 2025 legislative session, which created a dedicated State Forestry Department Large Wildfire Fund. The fund is financed through a new tax on oral nicotine products and interest generated by Oregon's Rainy Day Fund, establishing a more predictable revenue stream for wildfire response that does not require emergency budget transfers or supplemental appropriations from the legislature each time a major fire event strikes.

Governor Kotek and legislative leaders have also allocated $150 million for a new natural disaster fund — replenishing and more than tripling the size of a previous emergency wildfire fund — and created a new account to be filled with federal reimbursements from past fire seasons, building a reserve for future events.

Engine Grants for Rural Departments

A separate grant program through the Oregon State Fire Marshal has provided 75 fire engines to rural fire departments throughout Oregon. Many of the communities most at risk from wildland fire are protected by small, volunteer or combination departments that have historically struggled with aging or inadequate equipment. The engine grant program directly addresses that gap, putting modern apparatus in communities that often serve as the first line of defense against expanding wildfires before state or federal resources can arrive.

Federal Forestland Investment

On the federal side, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced more than $9.3 million in federal funding to support working forestlands in Oregon through the Fiscal Year 2026 Interior-Environment Appropriations Act. The funding flows through the Land and Water Conservation Fund's Forest Legacy Program and is aimed at keeping forestlands in productive management — a key component of reducing long-term fuel loads that drive catastrophic fire behavior.

Governor's Warning: A Difficult Season Ahead

Governor Kotek has issued explicit public warnings about the severity of the coming fire season, citing drought conditions, a warm and dry winter, below-average snowpack, and the accumulating effects of years of fire exclusion that have left Oregon's forests with historically high fuel loads. State emergency management officials are encouraging residents to prepare early by:

  • Registering for their county's emergency alert system.
  • Downloading the Alert Oregon app for statewide fire and emergency notifications.
  • Creating a defensible space around homes — at least 30 feet of reduced fuel near structures.
  • Preparing a go-bag and identifying multiple evacuation routes in advance.
  • Understanding their home's fire risk on the Oregon Hazard Explorer tool.

The Bigger Picture

Oregon's investment in wildfire funding infrastructure reflects a national trend of states confronting the growing fiscal reality that wildfire suppression is no longer an occasional emergency expense but a permanent cost of doing business. As AccuWeather's 2026 forecast projects 5.5 to 8 million acres burned nationwide this year — above the 10-year average — the pressure on state budgets that fund initial attack, equipment, and post-fire recovery is only growing.