Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) gathered with local elected officials at Bend City Hall Monday afternoon to discuss wildfire response and preparedness as a smattering of large infernos continue to burn across Oregon. “The so-called response by Washington, D.C., if you ask my opinion, is basically half-baked for the people of Oregon,” Wyden said. Levy said the legislature prepared for the fire season by setting aside $86 million in appropriations to pay the state’s wildfire bill without going into an emergency special session, which was the case after a record-breaking wildfire season in 2024. But the agency caught criticism from Oregon’s Democratic senators earlier this year when it denied assistance for two large wildfires, including the Rowe Creek Complex. Wyden also helped orchestrate a 2018 bill in Congress that set up a new fund for wildfire fighting.