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An Oregon Department of Forestry plane flies near the Big Windy fire while looking for other lighting-caused fires in southwest Oregon on Thursday.

(Jamie Lusch/The Associated Press)

The Oregon Department of Forestry has spent more than $70 million fighting major wildfires so far this summer, far more than it generally spends to handle fires on state-protected lands.

The two largest wildfires in southern Oregon -- the

-- are responsible for nearly $60 million of that total.

"Looking at the raw numbers here, it's definitely looking into historic territory," Dan Postrel of the Forestry Department told the

.

How much of the bill ultimately falls on the state depends on reimbursements by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In cases where flames threaten structures, FEMA can reimburse the state for up to 75 percent of eligible costs during the time structures are threatened.

Crews battle Rabbit Mountain fire in the Douglas Complex near Glendale, Ore. 14 Gallery: Crews battle Rabbit Mountain fire in the Douglas Complex near Glendale, Ore.

Eligible costs include field camps; equipment use, repair and replacement; tools, materials and supplies; and mobilization and demobilization activities. Usually, that eligible period lasts until a community-threatening wildfire is contained, Postrel said.

"It's going to be months, perhaps even a year, before everything from the costs and reimbursements settle out," Postrel says.

The Oregon Department of Forestry is responsible for wildfire fighting on about 15.3 million acres of county and state land as well as Western Oregon holdings of the federal Bureau of Land Management, which pays fees for that service.

The agency generally spends less than $10 million in a wildfire season. But the summer of 2002, which included the massive Biscuit Fire, ended up costing the state about $50 million.

The Douglas Complex, which qualifies for FEMA reimbursements, has burned 46,932 acres, or 73 square miles, and was listed Saturday as 72 percent contained. Suppression costs heading into Friday were calculated at $42.25 million, the Forestry Department said.

The Big Windy fire on federal Bureau of Land Management lands along the Wild Section of the Rogue River has cost more than $16.3 million. However, It does not qualify for FEMA reimbursements because of its remote location.

Expenses can ring up quickly, with a 20-person private contract crew costing the state Department of Forestry $12,800 a day, agency spokesman Brad Nichols said. That works out to $40 per hour per crew member working 16-hour days.

The first $20 million toward the season's larger fires is split between state general fund money and landowners who pay timber taxes and land assessments into a special fund called the Oregon Forest Land Protection Fund.

After that, a Lloyd's of London insurance policy pays up to $25 million of these big-fire costs, Postrel said. Anything above the $45 million level has to be handled through the Oregon Legislature.

The major wildfires this season have been started by lightning. Had they been human-caused, the Forestry Department could seek expenses from those responsible.