Oregon’s Office of Resilience and Emergency Management announced it has closed its long-term shelter program from the 2020 wildfires.
Director Ed Flick told KLCC, although the final Holiday Farm Fire survivor has moved on, the department’s work is not done. He said, “We’re still actively supporting the long-term recovery group in Lane County with our disaster case management program, and assisting people as they continue to put their lives together.”
Flick said they continue to guide 333 families through things like insurance claims, FEMA paperwork, and finding ways to fund items that were lost in the fires.
And the agency itself is pursuing FEMA reimbursement for its shelter work, which, due to the pandemic, was based in hotels, instead of multi-family settings.
Flick said statewide, they sheltered over 4,500 people and served more than two million meals after the Labor Day fires. He says they learned the state can best help by supporting local groups in their recovery efforts. In Lane County, those include The McKenzie Valley Long-Term Recovery Group and the Cascade Relief Team, as well as Lane County government.
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