While over half of the costs will eventually be covered by the federal government, the state still needs to pay the bills while waiting to be reimbursed.
"The unprecedented 2024 wildfire season required all of us to work together to protect life, land, and property, and that spirit of cooperation must continue in order to meet our fiscal responsibilities," Kotek said in a late November news release announcing the special session.
Oregon wildfires this year destroyed at least 42 homes and burned large swaths of range and grazing land in the state's rural east. At one point, the Durkee Fire, which scorched roughly 460 square miles (1,200 square kilometers) near the Oregon-Idaho border, was the largest in the nation.
Kotek declared a state of emergency in July in response to the threat of wildfire, and invoked the state's Emergency Conflagration Act a record 17 times during the season.
For the special session, Kotek has asked lawmakers to approve $218 million for the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Oregon Department of the State Fire Marshal. The money would help the agencies continue operations and pay the contractors that helped to fight the blazes and provide resources.
The special session comes ahead of the start of the next legislative session in January, when lawmakers will be tasked with finding more permanent revenue streams for wildfire costs that have ballooned with climate change worsening drought conditions across the U.S. West.
In the upcoming legislative session, Kotek wants lawmakers to increase wildfire readiness and mitigation funding by $130 million in the state's two-year budget cycle going forward. She has also requested that $150 million be redirected from being deposited in the state's rainy day fund, on a one-time basis, to fire agencies to help them pay for wildfire suppression efforts.