DeFazio, FEMA administrator talk wildfire disaster recovery

FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor will be spending two days in Oregon to witness the devastation from the wildfires

Dangerous to move forward.

In our firewatch coverage tonight..relief is on the way for victims. a discussion was held today at the university of oregon with representative peter defazio, fema administration pete gaynor and other leaders to discuss the road to recovery.

Kezi 9 news reporter kennedy dendy was there and found out the plan for picking up the pieces.

It was a saturday morning of collaboration and*action in eugene.

As leaders gathered at the u of o for what many would call& something timely, but extremely urgent.

Rep.

Peter defazio (d) oregon: "we are doing everything we can to help."

Pete gaynor is the head of the*federal emergency management agency --a position confirmed by the u- s senate.

Pete gaynor- fema administrator: "with a team effort and with great leadership from the chairman and leadership here in the state, i am absolutely positively sure we will get through it."

He says that*so far fema has registered about 7,000 disaster survivors and a few thousand*more are still out there.*14 million dollars have been placed in the hands of wildfire victims across oregon.

Coming from a pool of nearly 34 billion dollars in fema's account.

Bridge: it was a conversation about solutions here at the uo.

And a chance for leaders, not just in lane county, but also at the state and national levels to come together to figure out what the next steps are going to be...to bring major relief to victims of the wildfires.

Rep.

Peter defazio (d) oregon: "i've never seen anything like it.

There's nothing left of the town of blue river."

He says that the partnership with the u of o will be incredibly important.

Rep.

Peter defazio (d) oregon: "they've assigned some of their students to get into these communities that have been destroyed."

On sunday, leaders will head to the*northern part of the state to take a firsthand look.

Rep.

Peter defazio (d) oregon: "wildfires..they dont discriminate based on politcal party.

So this is one place we can still agree in washington."

The federal government will pay for housing for up to 18 months, so the hope is that*everyone will be able to get the assistance they need...as the road to rebuilding carries on.

Reporting in eugene kennedy dendy kezi 9 news.

The*third "federal emergency management agency" outreach site in lane county opened up today, and it's at the lane events center.

Here, oregonians affected by the wildfires can receive one-on-one assistance and talk with experts about their specific cases, get documents scanned and get all of their questions answered.

In lane