(a) Providing funds for the purchase of emergency fire suppression costs insurance under ORS 477.775.
(b) Acquiring and placing centrally managed fire suppression resources for statewide use.
(c) Acquiring fast-mobilizing, short-term contingency resources to be used based on predictions of severe fire weather, widespread lightning events or serious resource shortage due to a heavy fire season in this state, in the western region of the United States or nationally.
(d) Enhancing forest protection district resources in cases where land productivity or other economic factors seriously limit the ability of the forester to perform fire protection responsibilities.
(e) Mitigating forest patrol assessment rates in cases where land productivity or other economic factors seriously limit the ability of the owners of forestlands in the forest protection district to comply with ORS 477.210 (1).
(2) The State Forester shall utilize critical discretion in the expenditure of the funds provided to the State Forestry Department pursuant to the separate request required under subsection (1) of this section.
(3) The State Forester shall report to the Emergency Board, each year, after the close of the fire season, on:
(a) The nature and severity of the fire season;
(b) The moneys expended on fire suppression;
(c) The balance remaining from the biennial appropriation; and
(d) Any matters arising out of the fire season that may require attention or warrant future consideration by the board or the Legislative Assembly.
(4) When reporting the nature and severity of the fire season under subsection (3) of this section, for each fire consuming 1,000 or more acres, the State Forester shall provide information regarding the resulting losses on private lands of timber, buildings, fencing and livestock and of grazing land capacity if the land is expected to be unavailable for two or more grazing seasons. [2005 c.802 §2; 2013 c.619 §4; 2015 c.517 §1; 2016 c.117 §72]