BOTHELL, Wash. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has arrived in Oregon to deliver federal assistance to communities that have been destroyed due to the wildfire outbreaks across the region.
The Emergency Declaration was approved Thursday by President Trump. According to FEMA, the funds will authorize the organization to "coordinate disaster relief efforts to alleviate the hardship and suffering caused by the historic wildfires on the local population; to provide assistance for emergency measures needed to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety; and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe. The assistance does not provide direct financial assistance to individuals".
Several of FEMA's teams are working together to determine the needs and help coordinate response efforts. FEMA’s Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) in Bothell, Wash., has been also been activated and is mobilizing resources to Oregon to support state, local, and tribal partners.
Initial staging areas have been set up to help with the efficient and timely delivery of necessary supplies. Other forms of assistance have been set up including:
- An Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) technical assistance expert is helping to determine state needs, and has four US&R teams in transit; three with K9 capabilities and one US&R Incident Support Team.
- FEMA’s Mobile Emergency Response Support vehicles are in place to provide communications support and power generation for responders.
- Eight tractor-trailer trucks of meals, water, cots, and blankets arrived at the federal staging area on Friday, and seven additional tractor-trailer trucks with commodities are expected to arrive on Saturday.
