Volunteers Needed for Holiday Farm Fire Cleanup Efforts
Source: NBC16.com
Written by Olivia Young
BLUE RIVER, Ore. — Five months after the Holiday Farm Fire destroyed over 400 homes, a grassroots relief team is helping some of those homeowners start the recovery process.
Some charred metal and ashes are all that’s left of one woman’s property after the Holiday Farm Fire destroyed her home and business, today she’s back to take the first steps in rebuilding.
“So this area right here is where my laundry room would have been. The area right here is where my kitchen was,” said Melanie Stanley.
She still gets emotional when she visits the remnants of her home of nearly 30 years.
“It’s kind of bittersweet,” said Stanley, “Cause it means we can start moving forward. But it also means that we’re finally saying goodbye to this too.”
Tuesday Stanley said that goodbye, planning to rebuild both her home and general store.
“It’s gonna be bigger than the house we had here before and it’ll be in a similar footprint,” said Stanley.
Those first steps with help from a grassroots relief team.
“Today I’m just plotting, getting to know people, getting to know the lay of the land,” said Marc Brooks, President of the Cascade Relief Team.
During last year’s wildfires in Oregon, Marc Brooks created a Facebook group to help evacuate animals. Today that effort has morphed into the Cascade Relief Team, a nonprofit that helps communities recover.
“If you can get a few lots cleaned up and a few people ready to take action, it’s amazing that sparks true hope in the community,” said Brooks.
February 19th, 20th, and 21st, the relief team will have a volunteer cleanup in Blue River.
“Anybody can come out we do have stuff anybody can do we have stuff for social distancing,” said Brooks.
The team will safely dispose of debris, and prepare lots like Stanley’s for temporary use. Finding new growth out of the ashes.
“I’m not crying cause I’m sad,” Stanley said, “I’m happy because it means that we can finally hopefully be able to move forward from this chapter.”
Brooks says the goal of that clean-up is to kickstart recovery. He hopes that the community will continue cleanup efforts once the relief team is gone.
Monetary donations go a long way in helping cleanup, Brooks says it costs about $1500 to $2000 for cleanup for each home.
For information on how to volunteer or donate, go to Cascade Relief Team
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