Dear John,

While many of the blazes have been extinguished and the dense blanket of hazardous smoke that covered our state has cleared, we still have a long way to go in order to rebuild our hardest-hit communities from this season’s wildfires. 

One important source of funding and resources to help make that recovery possible is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is providing Oregonians with individual disaster assistance. This assistance can help eligible survivors with rent, home repair, and home replacement costs, and other disaster-related needs such as childcare and medical expenses.

If you a resident of Clackamas, Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, or Marion counties, you may be eligible for assistance -- but you need to get your application in before the November 16 deadline. You can access the application either online, via the FEMA app, or by calling 800-621-3362 (multilingual operators are available). For Teletype (TTY) call 800-462-7585.

Note that FEMA is encouraging Oregonians to contact their insurance companies to file claims for wildfire-related damage, but is advising that survivors should not wait for their settlement to arrive before applying for FEMA disaster assistance. Oregonians with underinsured or uninsured losses can still apply. Additionally, Oregonians should be sure to apply before the November 16 deadline, regardless of whether you already have everything you need to finalize your FEMA claim. Applicants will have further opportunities to submit documentation and other supporting materials, but it is very important to first submit an initial application by the November 16 deadline.

Please know that I will continue to keep you updated regarding any other resources that may be helpful to you and your family’s recovery from this unprecedented wildfire season. I’m also going to keep fighting for the federal funding we need to help Oregon’s family farms recover from fire and smoke damage, helping secure resources for aerial firefighting, and leading the charge in the Senate to tackle the climate chaos and pollution that are driving the drier, hotter conditions that fuel catastrophic wildfires in the first place.

It’s been a tough year -- but we’re going to recover and build back stronger than ever. 

All my best,
Jeff