MEDFORD, Ore. — For nearly a week, evacuees of the deadly and destructive Almeda Fire have been arriving at the Jackson County Expo, many with little more than the clothes they were wearing.
“Our goal is to help people navigate this catastrophe. My responsibility was to stand up all of these services as quickly as possible and get this information into the hands of the people who need it.”
Among the staff greeting them are Caryn Wheeler, assistant professor of practice with the Oregon State University Extension Service, and Monserrat Alegria, OSU Open Campus education coordinator in Josephine County. Both are based at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center in Central Point.
Wheeler was asked by the county to staff the Estación de Conexiónes–Connection Station, created to connect evacuees with social services. The station helps with Oregon Health Plan sign-ups, Veterans Affairs assistance, Jackson County Assessor’s Office tax proration, Oregon Department of Human Services food and housing support, mental and emotional health resources, Latino outreach, and senior services.
Alegria is assisting families at the Expo by helping them complete intake forms to determine which services and agencies they need.
Wheeler, a faculty member in the Family and Community Health Program in OSU’s College of Public Health and Human Sciences, said she has been “running nonstop” since Sept. 12. Four days earlier, the Almeda Fire had forced thousands to evacuate, burning through residential areas and devastating the towns of Talent and Phoenix.
Four people have died in the fire. An estimated 2,800 homes and 100 commercial buildings have been damaged or destroyed — numbers that continue to rise. In response, the Jackson County Emergency Operations Center set up an evacuation operation at the Expo.
“We know there are going to be gaps in terms of long-term stabilization,” Wheeler said. “Our goal is to help people navigate this catastrophe. My responsibility was to stand up all of these services as quickly as possible and get this information into the hands of the people who need it.”
Extension’s role in disaster response
The OSU Extension Service has a defined role in federal, state and local emergency plans, said Lynette Black, associate professor in OSU’s College of Public Health and Human Sciences and Extension 4-H youth development faculty in Wasco County.
“Extension is an essential partner in coordinating response efforts to disasters and emergencies,” said Black, who serves as Extension’s state disaster preparedness and recovery specialist and liaison to the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN).
EDEN is a consortium of land-grant universities focused on Extension’s role in disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery. Black has authored or co-authored several disaster preparedness publications, including Survival basics: No power? No problem: Tips to help you thrive in the face of disaster; Survival basics: Water; and Survival basics: Cascadia action steps. Her latest publication, Survival basics: Stress less, addresses mental well-being.
Extension in action
Black is one of several OSU Extension professionals who regularly attend county emergency operations meetings or lead ad hoc response efforts. Recent examples include:
- On May 27–28, at 18 distribution sites across Oregon, Extension employees partnered with the Oregon Army National Guard and Oregon Department of Agriculture to sort, load and distribute personal protective equipment to agricultural producers and farmworkers to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Some counties participated in follow-up distributions.
- In Wasco County, Extension created a plan to protect migrant farmworkers and residents during the annual cherry harvest.
- Robin Maille, Family and Community Health Program faculty in Union County, coordinated the provision of 1,000 face coverings for La Grande schools through the Union County Emergency Preparedness Coalition.
- John Punches, Extension forester for Union, Umatilla and Wallowa counties, has 30 years of search-and-rescue experience, including over 20 years coordinating the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Mountain Rescue team.
- Leah Sundquist, Clackamas County local liaison, uses her emergency management background to coordinate with county operations centers, analyze reports, and provide emergency management training for Extension staff.
- OSU Extension has also assisted with livestock rescue efforts during wildfire evacuations.
Lessons from past disasters
Ruth Dixon, 4-H educational program assistant in Curry County, drew on her experience during the 2017 Chetco Bar Fire to prepare livestock barns at the Event Center at Gold Beach for possible evacuations in Southern Oregon.
“I’d like to thank the 4-H volunteers and members for their help with setting up and creating the evacuation center,” Dixon said. “Being proactive about something without knowing if anything will actually happen is something that 4-H is great at.”
Dixon also served as a resource for Lindsay Davis, office manager for the Extension office in Clatsop County, who organized a volunteer effort to evacuate animals during the wildfires in northwest Oregon.
“In a crisis situation like this, you don’t reinvent the wheel,” Davis said. “Ruth and her team did an amazing job organizing animal evacuation efforts during the Chetco Bar Fire. She shared all of her knowledge and resources with me so we could provide an immediate response to our own community without delay.”
Support under evacuation orders
During that same week, Davis frequently called Sundquist, who was under a Level 2 “be ready” evacuation order at her Oregon City home.
“Despite having her car packed and a garden hose in her hand spraying down her home, Leah and I were on the phone all hours of the day and night as she coordinated with Clackamas Emergency Management on the evacuation of livestock to the Clackamas County Fairgrounds,” Davis said. “She has a true heart of service, and each time I called she said, ‘I’m here, what can I do to help?’”
