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ODF: McKenzie River Corridor Will Be Treacherous After Major Fire Subsides

Inciweb

The Holiday Farm Fire has displaced hundreds of people from their homes and businesses.  And while the fire is slowly being fought back and increasingly contained, an official warns there are short --and long-term-- risks to returning to the affected areas. 

Marcus Kauffman of the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) says burned vegetation and destroyed trees could send rocks and debris falling, blocking roads and injuring people. As for the rainy season ahead…

“We’ll see debris slides, falling trees, rock slides, potentially mud slides," said Kauffman.  "So those are kinda some of the things that’re going to be happening in the McKenzie River corridor as the winter season comes on us.”

While the Holiday Farm Fire’s aftermath is a ways from being fully assessed, it’s definitely changed the landscape – and the lives of residents – for a long time.

Copyright 2020, KLCC.

Brian Bull is a contributing freelance reporter with the KLCC News department, who first began working with the station in 2016. He's a senior reporter with the Native American media organization Buffalo's Fire, and was recently a journalism professor at the University of Oregon.

In his nearly 30 years working as a public media journalist, Bull has worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.