Article about the Wildfires in 2020
8.30.2021
On Tuesday, September 8th the community around our high elevation farm in Silverton, Oregon was part of the first area to be evacuated due the Beachie Creek Fire which at this writing, is only 20% contained. Although we don’t live on that farm, the area is where Dave and Kathy both grew up and where many members of Kathy’s family still live. The Drakes Crossing Volunteer Fire Dept is directly across the street from the family home. A fire line was bull dozed between the burned and not burned areas so our farm and any neighboring farms on the not-burned side of the line are probably safe – at least for now.
People are allowed back into the homes and power has been restored. Irrigation has resumed on the farm but we won’t do any more than that until the smoke clears. Thick smoke still blankets all of western Oregon, Washington and California. We have had the worst air quality in the world, on and off, for a week. Today the Oregon Dept of Air Quality reports our area as 479… on a scale of 0-500.
The ugly stats as of today, for the Beachie Creek Fire (there are 36 more fires):
Acres Burned: 190,000+
Residences Burned: 470
Other Structures: 818
Deaths: 4
Injured: 3
There is a Go Fund Me account for the Drakes Crossing Volunteer Fire Dept who will need to replace equipment and supplies. If you would like to help, they would appreciate any gift. GoFundMe Drakes Crossing RFD
There is an amazing original song from a local artist on You Tube about the battle. I don’t know this man but he obviously knows the fire.
Matthew Nelson Price, Save Silverton
