Kotek invokes Oregon’s Conflagration Act for two Central Oregon fires
Gov. Tina Kotek has invoked Oregon’s Emergency Conflagration Act for the Akawa Butte and Brewer fires in Central Oregon, authorizing the Oregon State Fire Marshal to mobilize firefighting mutual-aid resources.
The declaration was made July 18, 2026, and the Governor’s Office announced it July 20. It applies to the two fires identified by the state in Deschutes and Jefferson counties.
The action followed a request for assistance from chiefs on the Central Oregon Fire Defense Board. Those chiefs requested help for life safety and structural fire protection, and the Oregon State Fire Marshal concurred with the request before the governor invoked the act.
State authority for mutual aid
The declaration permits the state fire marshal to mobilize resources through the Oregon Fire Mutual Aid System. That system can be used when local firefighting capabilities have been exceeded.
In announcing the declaration, the governor said local firefighting personnel and equipment were insufficient for the threat posed by the Akawa Butte and Brewer fires. The executive action supplies the state-level authority for mutual-aid assistance in response to that determination.
The immediate effect is not a finding about the status of either fire. Rather, it allows the state fire marshal to seek and organize available mutual-aid resources for the response after local fire-defense leaders requested assistance.
The declaration is an exercise of the governor’s emergency authority under Oregon law. The Governor’s Office cited ORS 476.510 through 476.610, along with 2026 Executive Order 26-17, in connection with the action.
Who requested assistance and why
The request came from the Central Oregon Fire Defense Board chiefs, a group of local fire-defense leaders involved in the regional response. Their request was specifically for assistance with protecting life, safety and structures.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s concurrence was the step that preceded the governor’s declaration. With the declaration in place, the fire marshal may mobilize resources through the statewide mutual-aid system for the two named fires.
The Governor’s Office identified the fires as the Akawa Butte Fire and the Brewer Fire and located them in Deschutes and Jefferson counties. The state announcement does not broaden the declaration to other fires or areas.
For communities and responders in the affected Central Oregon area, the action matters because it opens access to statewide firefighting assistance when local capacity is not sufficient for the threat. The state’s stated focus for the requested assistance is protection of life, safety and structures.
What is known next
The known next step under the declaration is that the Oregon State Fire Marshal may mobilize available mutual-aid resources through the Oregon Fire Mutual Aid System. The announcement does not specify how many firefighters, personnel or pieces of apparatus may be mobilized.
It also does not provide an estimated or final cost for the response. No deployment totals were included in the governor’s announcement.
The declaration remains limited in the state announcement to the Akawa Butte and Brewer fires. The release does not provide incident-specific information about fire containment, evacuation status or the cause of either fire, so those matters are not established by the governor’s announcement.
The July 18 declaration and July 20 announcement establish the state authorization for mutual aid; they do not, on their own, resolve the fires’ operational status. Additional incident information would need to come from the relevant fire-response authorities.
Sources
- Governor Kotek Invokes Conflagration Act for the Akawa Butte and Brewer Fires, Oregon Governor’s Office
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