Medford City Council withdraws controversial Almeda sculpture funding

Jenna King February 3, 2022

Last Updated: February 4, 2022

MEDFORD, Ore. —Medford City Council formally withdrew funding for a controversial Almeda Fire sculpture Thursday. The “Firestorm” sculpture was initially approved, to be built in downtown Medford.

The 20-foot tall sculpture was intended to honor Almeda Fire victims. The project also received nearly $34,000 from the city.

However, the design of the sculpture sparked a petition against it, that quickly gathered more than 2,000 signatures. Last month, when the city announced it was no longer supporting the plan, it said in a statement, it wanted to respect everyone’s experience with the fire.

“A resolution to approve the withdrawal of financial support from the ‘Firestorm’ art project and authorizing the reallocation of $33,750 to the 420 council vision fund,” said city attorney, Eric Mitton.

All city councilors voted to withdraw the funding.

Jenna King

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NBC5 News Reporter Jenna King is a Burbank native. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Sports Business. During her time at the U of O, she was part of the student-run television station, Duck TV. She also grew her passion for sports through interning with the PAC 12 Network. When Jenna is not in the newsroom you can find her rooting for her hometown Dodgers, exploring the outdoors, or binging on the latest Netflix release.