Rowena Fire recovery and cleanup update

ROWENA — The process of distributing fundraised money and materials to people impacted by the Rowena Fire is set to begin on Oct. 6, officials from the county and nonprofit organizations announced, marking a transition from immediate to long-term recovery.

Over the past three months, Wasco County, the Mid-Columbia Economic Development District (MCEDD) and several other stakeholders have been establishing frameworks to address critical post-fire barriers, including housing, infrastructure, communication and natural hazards, through the Rowena Fire Long-Term Recovery Group. At the same time, United Way of the Columbia Gorge has collected $350,000 in donations while case managers with the Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) documented what each resident lost.

Case managers will then submit applications on behalf of residents to the Unmet Needs Roundtable, comprised of community members, business owners and local pastors who will allocate donations, beginning in less than a week.

“I absolutely empathize with anyone who thinks, ‘You have this money. Why don’t you just cut us a check?’ It’s an understandable question,” said Andrew Danies, co-chair of the recovery group and deputy director of MCEDD. “We think the money can do more good leveraged on top of other resources that we can bring to bear.”

The nonprofit network and county won’t be able to make each resident financially whole again, Danies said, but they can pool resources and stretch limited dollars. The Downey Sleep Center in The Dalles donated 80 mattresses, for instance, and he noted they’ve been coordinating with lumber businesses for building materials, churches for volunteer and counseling services and local haulers who could provide discounted rates for debris removal.

Bringing those pieces together takes time, however. Based on conversations with state disaster response efforts, Wasco County’s Community Development Director, Kelly Howsley-Glover, also emphasized that the distribution of relief funds is one of the most important factors to holistic, long-term recovery, and doing so equitably isn’t easy.

“Needs look really different for every individual. Some people may need a little bit of assistance. They may just need a little bit of help to put up a fence so that their animals can be safe,” said Howsley-Glover. “Then we have people on the other end of the spectrum who are uninsured and need a lot of help and support.”

While the Rowena Fire burned 56 homes, Howsley-Glover estimated that the total number of people directly impacted ranges from 400 to 600. Each of those people must be interviewed by case managers so the roundtable can evaluate who is most and least able to get back on their feet independently, and then hand out resources accordingly.

Rather than give every resident the same amount of money, Howsley-Glover said allocating based on level of need enables the limited funds to do the greatest good. Both Danies and Howsley-Glover, along with  United Way of the Columbia Gorge Executive Director, Caroline Grew, further stressed that 100% of funds raised by United Way are going to impacted residents, and MCEDD is solely responsible for dispersing them.

United Way received two grants from the Oregon Community Foundation and the Roundhouse Foundation that cover the administrative costs of fundraising and the organization it entails, Grew added. Beyond live auctions in The Dalles and Hood River, the Safeway Foundation has donated a $167,000 grant to residents, with an additional $20,000 from The Dalles Golf Club, a football game at The Dalles High School that generated $1,420 and many other contributions.

For ease of access, the county also launched a standalone website and Facebook page for the Rowena Fire Long-Term Recovery Group, accessible at rowenarecovery.org/ and www.facebook.com/rowenarecovery.

“There’s a huge village behind the community members. We’ve been pretty quiet deliberately because we don’t want to release information that feels unimportant, considering what they faced and the trauma they’re trying to process,” said Howsley-Glover.

“I understand their frustration,” said Gaines. “Obviously, I can’t put myself in their shoes after what they’ve been through, but their voices are being heard and taken incredibly seriously.”

Phase two of cleanup

As previously reported by Columbia Gorge News, Wasco County’s Debris Management Task Force is moving forward with phase two of the no-cost cleanup effort, which was delayed due to insufficient funding, under direct orders from Gov. Tina Kotek.

According to Wasco County Public Information Officer Stephanie Krell, the county and state are currently negotiating the scope of work to be performed during phase two, including which company will provide the services. If all goes to plan, Krell said the negotiations should be complete within a couple of weeks.