Gov. Tina Kotek’s addresses the latest on the Akawa Butte Fire

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Gov. Tina Kotek visited Central Oregon Friday to tour the Akawa Butte Fire, announcing federal approval for a Fire Management Assistance Grant that will cover 75% of the blaze's costs. The governor also addressed the significant strain on resources and the potential use of the Oregon National Guard as the nearly 30,000-acre wildfire continues to be the nation's top priority.

The Akawa Butte Fire has devastated close to 30,000 acres, destroying two homes and continuing to threaten hundreds of others in the Sisters and Camp Sherman area. With daily costs potentially exceeding $1 million, the fire's designation as a National Planning Level Five status means all available resources have been deployed. Fire officials recently reported that more than 125 requests for personnel could not be fulfilled due to a lack of available assets.

The resource challenges come despite international assistance, with firefighting teams from Australia and New Zealand now on their way to Central Oregon to aid in battling the blazes.

Gov. Kotek confirmed that the Oregon National Guard has a crew prepared to assist. “So as I've mentioned earlier at the fire briefing back in May, we do have an Oregon National Guard crew that is prepared,” Kotek said. She clarified their role. “They're a crew that once a fire has gotten to a certain level containment, they will come in and help mop up, which allows us to send other crews with different skills to different places.” Kotek added that the National Guard has not yet been used in that capacity.

The recently approved Fire Management Assistance Grant, secured from the Trump administration, significantly alleviates the financial burden on local and state governments. The federal government will cover 75% of the costs, with the state covering the remaining 25%. Kotek emphasized the importance of this funding. “One of the thing about resources last night, the the Trump administration declared gave approval to f mag status for the Aqua Butte fire,” Gov. Kotek said. “F mag stands for Fire Management Assistance Grant, which allows us to have the federal government pick up 75% of the cost and we pick up 25% of the cost. So when you see that level of commitment from the federal government, you know, this is a big fire.”

Gov. Kotek expects the Oregon National Guard will be called up for mop-up operations when the fire reaches a stage of containment.