© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Rebuilding efforts continue at Blue River, with challenges

Residential construction at Blue River, which was largely destroyed by 2020's Holiday Farm Fire.
Brian Bull
/
KLCC
Residential construction at Blue River, which was largely destroyed by 2020's Holiday Farm Fire.
Melanie Stanley, of Blue River, OR.
Brian Bull
/
KLCC
Melanie Stanley, of Blue River, OR.

A Blue River resident and disaster relief worker says the town is just about a third rebuilt, since being leveled by 2020’s Holiday Farm Fire.

Melanie Stanley is disaster case manager and resource navigator for Cascade Relief Team. She’s also an owner of Meyers General Store and Liquor Shop which was destroyed in the wildfire.

Progress has been slower than locals would like to see. Stanley told KLCC that besides permitting and zoning challenges, building costs are still “through the roof.”

“Commercial building right now is somewhere between $750 and $900 a square foot,” said Stanley. “My original building -if we’re gonna round up at almost a thousand dollars a square foot - if you go on the very high end, that’s $2 million to build a building.”

Stanley added there’s also an issue of properties being uninsured or underinsured, as many were covered based on building costs years ago. She hopes supply chain issues and inflation ease up, to better facilitate the rebuilding process for Blue River homes and businesses.

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's 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.
Related Content