Wildfires
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
A3
A ‘miracle’ house for a birthday present
%\&KHU\O+RHÀHU
Blue Mountain Eagle
CANYON CITY — “It
was like something out of a
horror movie.”
That’s what Amy Hoppe
said the Canyon Creek area
resembled when she, her
brother and a cousin drove
through Saturday morning,
Aug. 15, to check on the home
of her 90-year-old grand-
mother, Dortha Hoppe.
At least they knew the
home was still standing.
And Dortha was safe at
that point, too, staying in John
Day with her son and his wife,
Wayne and Barbara Hoppe,
Amy’s parents.
When the area went on a
Level 1 evacuation the morn-
ing before, Amy went up to her
grandmother’s house to get her
and some of her clothes, and
take her to her parents’ house in
John Day. But when Amy went
to get a few more belongings,
the police told her the area was
at a Level 3 evacuation. She
needed to leave immediately.
“I rushed into the home,
shaking, grabbed a bunch of
photo albums and snapped a
picture out the window,” she
said.
Later that night, they were
told the house was gone, but
Amy said she learned from
Julie and Gordon Larson, who
went up to get horses, that it
was the only home in the area
not destroyed.
Just exactly what they found
upon arrival however, took
them by surprise.
The property surrounding
the home and right up to its base
was blackened and charred. A
Siding has melted and fallen off, but Dortha Hoppe’s house is still standing.
Contributed photos/Amy Hoppe
The shop of Amy Hoppe’s late grandfather, Buck
Hoppe, was destroyed in the fire.
Dortha Hoppe’s house, just beyond the driveway, is
mostly intact, while everything surrounding it burned.
couple of windows were blown
out and vinyl siding melted in
places, Hoppe said, but other-
wise, it was intact.
The next day, Sunday, while
she and another cousin were
at the house, ¿re¿ghters from
the North Lincoln Fire Depart-
ment stopped by to ask a few
questions and told them it was
a local Oregon Department of
Forestry crew who had worked
that area.
According to the North
Lincoln ¿re crew, Amy said,
the forestry department crew
moved brush and stuck sprin-
klers around, hoping to save it.
They had to move on before
they themselves didn’t make it
back out, but asked later about
the houses that were still stand-
ing and about “the yellow one
on the hill.”
“The North Lincoln guys
said they named it the ‘miracle
house,’” Amy said.
Ever since Dortha’s hus-
band, Buck Hoppe, died in
May 2011, Amy said her
parents have tried to help
her grandmother stay in her
home, where she has lived for
over 50 years. “We all to this
day have no clue how it is still
there,” she added.
It was also an early birth-
day present for Dortha, who
Dortha Hoppe celebrates
her 90th birthday with
cake — and a home
spared from the Canyon
Creek Complex fire,
thanks to ODF fire crews.
turned 90 on Aug. 17.
“My family and grand-
mother are grateful, but our
hearts are heavy for those
who did lose homes,” Amy
said.
“We are beyond thank-
ful for what they did,” she
added.
Fire¿ghters Moin 6-year-old’s celebration
Protect What’s Precious.
Immunize Today!
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — A group of
Canyon Creek Complex ¿re-
¿ghters sang “Happy Birthday”
to 6-year-old Dalia Nicodemus
last Tuesday night as she shared
20 cupcakes at their ¿re camp
dinner.
The birthday girl said her fa-
vorite part of helping her mom
make the cupcakes was pouring
in the mix and licking the bowls.
The whole family helped
distribute the cupcakes, includ-
ing Dalia’s mom. Sophia; her
dad, Gary; and younger broth-
ers, Duke, 4, and Khler, 3.
Fire¿ghters were all smiles
at the gesture.
The Nicodemus kids also set
up signs thanking the crews for
their work on the local ¿re.
Sophia said the family has
had a view of the ¿re, which
has destroyed at least 39 homes,
from their Canyon City resi-
dence — at a safe distance.
“Seeing the ¿re was pretty
scary,” she said. “We feel hor-
rible for the people who lost
things, but we’re also very glad
for these ¿re¿ghters.”
Protect the health of your child and others by immunizing
against pertussis, measles, meningitis and other vaccine-
preventable, life-threatening illnesses. To find out which
vaccinations are required and recommended for the new
school year, call our office today.
Grant County Health
Department
528 E Main St. | John Day
541-575-0429 | 888-443-9104
Open Mon.-Fri. 8am-5pm
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
Birthday girl Dalia Nicodemus, 6, serves one of 240
cupcakes to firefighters at the Grant County Fairgrounds
during dinnertime at the fire camp Wednesday night.
Standing with her are her younger brother (bottom left),
Khler, 3, her mom, Sophia, and Kim Randleas, a camp cook.
Drexel H. Foundation Film Festival
Dalia Nicodemus shows
a poster she made for the
firefighters who have been
working on the Canyon
Creek Complex fire.
Rex Theater Vale, OR • September 12, 2015 • 6:30pm
Film Makers Competition Deadline: August 31
$100 Cash to Best of Show
Winner need not be present to win.
Categories:
Film | Photo Slideshow | Food | Super Short
Entry forms at www.thedrexelfoundation.org
or call us at 541-473-3470
For kids, by kids, with kids in mind!
We lost our home in the Canyon Creek Complex fire and we want all of the firefighters to
know how much we appreciate all you did to protect structures. So many homes saved!
Thank you! No home is worth losing a life. We are so thankful no human lives were lost.
Special thanks to the crew that was on the Corral Gulch Road. They were there after the
burn came through and they saved several homes and structures, I believe they saved our
barn. Another special thank you goes out to the flaggers who were monitoring traffic down
395, that was a very stressful time for everyone involved. We can’t thank you enough.
We cannot say thank you enough to the emergency responders, Red Cross, the Fairground’s
volunteers and all of the outside sources of donations for all you have done to help.
Thank you friends, family and our special “Oregon Family” and neighbors for all your
support through this difficult time. Thank you to the lady (sorry I don’t know your name)
that brought me salami for protein. It’s all been overwhelming to us. We just want to say
thank you to anyone we may not have mentioned. We are strong, we are fine and we love
Grant County and all the people that make Grant County what it is.
Thank you to Undersheriff Todd McKinley for your sincerity and giving us closure. Thank
you to Lisa Hunter-Kennedy at Ed Staub’s for listening and talking about this horrific
event. Our hearts are heavy, but we feel we can move on.
Steve and Tori Iske
NO ONE KNOWS YOUR EQUIPMENT BETTER.
Your AGCO Parts Dealer has the parts you need when you need them.
Hardware, chain, batteries, tillage, belts, cutting parts. We have the quality
parts you need to keep your AGCO equipment running smoothly during
the demanding harvest season.
Highly trained service personnel at AGCO Parts make it all come together,
so you can rest easy. Visit your AGCO Parts Dealer and get the parts and
services you need to “Keep you in the Field” this season. Find out more at
agcoparts.com.
02581