Oregon's 2026 wildfire season has become the most expensive in the state's history, with firefighting costs hitting $236.2 million as of August 20 — and climbing. The Oregon Department of Forestry now says it will need to borrow $150 million from the state treasury in three installments just to keep crews paid and equipment running through the end of the year.

The numbers are staggering by any measure. More than 1,500 individual fires have scorched upward of 2.5 million acres across the state this year — a 29 percent jump over the previous record season in 2024, according to reporting from Oregon Public Broadcasting's regional affiliate network. Net fire costs, after anticipated federal reimbursements, are running 280 percent above the ten-year average. The forestry department projects the season's gross bill could ultimately top $350 million before it's over.

Borrowing to Keep the Lights On

Under a 2025 state law, House Bill 3940, the forestry department is authorized to borrow directly from the Oregon State Treasury once firefighting costs blow past its budget. Officials plan to draw $60 million in September, another $60 million in October, and a final $30 million in November to keep paying contractors and vendors while the state waits on federal grants and cost-sharing agreements to catch up. Separately, the agency is asking the Legislature's Emergency Board for an additional $250 million in spending authority, according to a report first detailing the funding request.

Much of the financial strain traces back to where the fires are burning. A large share of this year's megafires — including the Rowe Creek Complex, Hagen, Wright Springs and Fielder Mountain fires — have torched remote, sparsely populated land that doesn't qualify for federal FEMA disaster assistance, leaving the state to absorb a bigger share of the cost itself.

OFFICIALS SAY HIGHER NET COSTS PARTLY STEM FROM "THE LOCATION OF FIRES ON THE LANDSCAPE," WITH MANY BLAZES BURNING ON REMOTE TERRAIN INELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL DISASTER REIMBURSEMENT.

The season began early and aggressively, driven by a record-low mountain snowpack, entrenched drought and a barrage of summer lightning strikes that ignited dozens of fires simultaneously across the state's dry eastern and central regions. Governor Tina Kotek has repeatedly urged residents to stay vigilant as crews remain stretched thin heading into what would traditionally be the tail end of fire season.

With roughly two months of fire risk still ahead, the Oregon Department of Forestry says it won't deliver a final tally to lawmakers until its year-end report to the Emergency Board in December. Until then, the borrowing — and the acreage — keeps growing.