09/10/2026
Post Aug 1 fire: we got measurable rain the other day (the first since June 28th, not uncommon here in the dry Inland Northwest east of the Cascades) and now it often smells acrid, like after a campfire is doused. Even blocks away there are whiffs of it. People are continuing to sift through the remains of their lives and stories are legion. One friend worked with Samaritan's Purse -- volunteer sifters who go through your leveled home site with you -- and they found her grandmother's tiny blackened engagement ring! The EPA has moved unexploded propane tanks to the curb. Sandbags along the driveways and across the storm sewer openings have been set out to protect the river from toxic runoff, once we do get significant rain. The Red Cross early on dropped off a storage bin at each home site with protective gear, ready to eat meals, a blanket, and a few other necessities for homeowners who lost everything but are coming back to find what they can.
Hundreds of trees are being cut down, most have been removed from areas around electrical lines. They are being hauled about a mile away to a field where the former Joe Albi stadium once stood.
It seems the newly unhoused have settled somewhere. Many owners have received insurance checks -- some within 3 days of the fire, I heard. And many are trying to figure out how to navigate the gap from what their policy paid to what it will cost to rebuild, all the while continuing to make mortgage payments on their burned-down house, most of which enjoyed a lower mortgage interest rate then the rebuild or home purchase will. Many families have found rentals and some have bought houses. Kids have started school, many in different school districts because of where furnished rentals were available. Some of the donated food items that charities gathered right at the start are now being moved to other areas of need. Neighbors are getting in contact with each other, seeing where they have ended up.
People who have a house standing may be dealing with smoke or even water damage (I was lucky and I'm not), and it might be months before they are able to return home. By all accounts, this is a huge and unpleasant ordeal, even while they are grateful to still have a home. Apparently insulation and flooring needs to be removed, walls painted, and every single content in the home washed, dipped, or sanitized somehow. I know at least one flock of chickens that has stayed in the backyard even though their family is not able to live in the house yet.
Firefighters continue to be heroes. One man who lost his house had a vintage Chris Craft motor boat sitting in what used to be his backyard, seemingly untouched, surrounded by ashes, bricks and twisted iron. He said he was watching national news and saw firefighters protecting the boat! He did not evacuate until the houses behind him were on fire and thought nothing would be saved. Another family drove off when they saw their wooden fence on fire, convinced their home would be a total loss -- but only the fence was burned! It is still unbelievable that there were not direct casualties with more than 700 homes burned down; it would have been a different story had this happened at night.
Mental health professionals have warned this is entering a difficult time. Those not impacted by the fires are moving on, and may forget the trauma others are still experiencing. Those who are impacted are just starting on a long journey of recovery.
