While Lane County fights over a dozen fires, the State of Oregon is managing over 100 active fires according to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM). On Thursday Aug. 1 OEM put out a statement updating the state on the severity of wildfires this year and how residents can help. According to the statement, the number of acres burned reaches 1.2 million and this year there have been 1,261 fires burned across the state. This included five megafires, fires that exceed 100,000 acres, burning in Eastern Oregon according to OEM. Although these fires are in the works of being contained, OEM states that as many as 18,000 residents were under an evacuation level, and more than 8,000 are still under some type of evacuation warning as of Aug 1. Immense damage has been done to property, homes, livestock, and other factors of many ranchers’ lives. OEM has made a list of how to support the victims of wildfires in our state and it is available at Wildfire.oregon.gov.
OEM has compiled a library of additional recovery resources with info to help residents during and after a fire at wildfire.oregon.gov/recovery. This includes:
■ Basic needs support: List of shelters, food pantries, replace SNAP benefits, medical equipment replacement and vital document replacement
■ Stay informed: Sign up for ORAlerts.gov for updates and additional resources.
■ Returning home: Assess damages to property etc. Follow guidelines for safe cleanup because ash contains hazardous materials. How to avoid scams when rebuilding.
■ Mental Health: 24/7 help available. Call 988 or visit LinesforLife.org. Call/text AgriStress Hotline 833-897-2474 for those in the farming communities.
