Oregon's wildfires put hundreds of thousands of jobs on the line

Oregon's ongoing wildfires have cost five lives and hundreds of homes since Friday, but even more businesses and jobs could be at stake if fire crews cannot contain them.

According to the Oregon Employment Department data on Friday morning, 21,350 Oregon businesses are in a wildfire evacuation zone across 13 counties. Those businesses, the department reported, employ 232,600 Oregonians.

For perspective, one out of 10 Oregonian businesses is now impacted by wildfires raging across the state. By comparison, Oregon's entire private health care industry employs 262,400 workers.

Areas under Oregon's most urgent "Go Now" evacuation orders impact around 20,300 jobs. Oregon gained roughly the same number of jobs in July, around 20,500.

Industries most affected by Oregon wildfires happen to be its largest overall sectors—health care, retail trade, and leisure and hospitality.

Oregon's unemployment rate in July was 10.4 percent.

There is no telling how culinary businesses will be able to hold outdoor activities in counties where no evacuation orders have been issued, but air quality is still unhealthy from wildfire smoke such as in Multnomah County.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced on Friday that weather conditions could prove more favorable for fire crews working in the northwestern part of the state. Oregon's latest blazes, the Santiam and Holiday Farm Fires, were still uncontrolled on Friday.

According to Brown, more than 900,000 acres have been blackened by wildfires since Thursday.

This is all happening as the state looks at a $1.2 billion budget deficit for 2020 which Oregon lawmakers have tried to correct this summer with sizable cuts over two special legislative sessions this year.

Calls for a third special session this year by various business groups and several state lawmakers have not gained vocal support from Brown.