LIFESTYLES
WEEKEND, AUGUST 29-30, 2015
Shane Guth, left, of Big R Oregon in Redmond, helps unload a truck of donated items from the store, passing them down to volunteer Miles Tripp.
Relief in the face of fire
Story and photos by GEORGE PLAVEN • East Oregonian
Donations pour into
relief center for
victims of wildfire
Judy Dunn was in Michigan when
she heaUd aERuW Whe IeURciRus wiOd¿Ue
bearing down on her home along
Canyon Creek south of John Day.
Miraculously, the blaze missed
Dunn’s house — inherited from her
late father — by mere inches, though
others weren’t as lucky. At least 39
homes have been destroyed in the
Canyon Creek ComSle[ ¿re, leaving
families with nothing but a pile of
rubble and questions where to turn
next.
Stories of tragedy have led to
donations pouring in from across the
state as Oregonians dig deep for ways
to help. The result is a massive relief
effort now organized at the Grant
County Fairgrounds Pavilion, which
volunteers have transformed into a
kind of one-stop shop for ¿re victims
to get back on their feet.
Shelves are carefully stocked with
everything from macaroni and tooth-
paste to dog food and pillows. There
are extension cords, lamps, books,
dishes, water, toasters, paper towels,
bug spray and more donated clothes
than can possibly ¿t in one location.
Though the ¿re spared Dunn’s
house, it did destroy an outbuilding
and pump house that left her without
running water and electricity. She
and her husband, Jim, are staying at a
friend’s place in Canyon City until they
can rebuild.
On Saturday, Judy Dunn and her
friend, Lena Redheffer, stopped by the
Fairgrounds Relief Center to pick up
just a few odds and ends.
“This is just beyond anything I can
imagine,” Dunn said. “This is amazing,
the effort of everybody who’s come
together.”
Dunn said the community has
always managed to pull together during
hard times, but the Canyon Creek
Complex ¿re was unlike anything
she’s ever experienced.
“Canyon Creek going up looks
like a bomb went off,” she said. “Our
hearts just go out to the people who lost
everything.”
Beyond Grant County, good Samar-
itans have loaded their cars, trucks
and horse trailers with donated goods
driven down from Pendleton, Portland,
Bend and even as far as Boise. A truck
rolled in Saturday from Big R Oregon
out of Redmond, carrying pallets of
donated horse tack, feed, hoses and
even a chainsaw.
Mike and Hilda Allison made
the 70-mile drive from Hines with a
special delivery of food and water. The
couple used to own a logging business
together, and still know plenty of locals
Mike Allison, of Hines, arrived Saturday with a truckload of donated food and water for fire victims at the
Fairgrounds Relief Center
“We’ve done this out of
love. We’re all helpers,
and we want to help.”
— Jennifer Mooney, volunteer
at Fairgrounds Relief Center
Jennifer Mooney, a volunteer at the Fairgrounds Relief Center, stocks
toothpaste and other essentials for victims affected by the Canyon
Creek Complex fire.
in the John Day area.
“We woke up this morning, and
Mike said, ‘Let’s go do some good
things,’” Hilda Allison said. “It’s
amazing how these small communities
rally.”
9olunteers help unload and ¿nd
shelf space for all the new items, while
behind the scenes another group of
volunteers updates a 10-page list of
businesses and individuals offering
services such as health, housing and
¿nancial assistance.
Jennifer Mooney said it is impos-
sible to know exactly how much has
been donated so far. Items keep coming
in every day, more than they could ever
give away.
“All this is love for the ones who
need it,” Mooney said. “It’s pretty
awesome.”
Mooney, a retired justice court
clerk in Canyon City, has worked at
the Fairgrounds Relief Center since it
opened Saturday, Aug. 15 at the peak
of the ¿re’s intensity. Her job is to greet
families at the door, make sure they
sign in and help them ¿gure out what it
is they’ll need to take with them.
“Most of them are so numb, they
can’t think,” she said. “So we think
for them, and try to pick out the things
they’ll need.”
Mooney said she has no idea how
people think to donate the things they
bring in — things as simple as ¿nger-
nail clippers that are so basic they’re
easy to overlook.
There are bigger things too, like
furniture, beds and a spare generator.
It’s all needed, and all going to good
use, Mooney said.
The relief center keeps an updated
list of things victims need on its Face-
book page, which is now followed by
676 people. Anything that’s extra or
left over the center hopes to keep in the
community.
Mooney said they plan to keep
taking donations until the need is no
longer there.
“We’ve done this out of love,” she
said. “We’re all helpers, and we want
to help.”
Dunn still tears up when she thinks
about everything that’s happened the
past week, and especially how her
husband’s childhood memories have
essentially gone up in Àames. They
might be in limbo now, she said, but
they will rebuild. And they will make
it better.
“It’s just going to take time,” Dunn
said. “It’s been a roller coaster.”
To reach the Fairgrounds Relief
Center, call 541-575-1900.
———
Contact George Plaven at gplaven@
eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0825.
1C