Aftermath of trailer fire at LaSells Stewart Park at Wildwood Falls.
In September 2020, there was a big RV fire near forested areas, and around the same time, the Holiday Farm Fire was burning too. This fire became one of Oregon’s biggest ever and needed a lot of resources. In Dorena, our community’s fire trailers helped put out the fire.
Around this time, a group had already talked with many agencies about joining the 911 system and starting a nonprofit fire group. But our small Lane County community couldn’t make it happen alone. They knew they needed a permanent solution but saw it was impossible without a proper organization.
As just a community group, they could only ask for help with limited resources. But if they became a 501(c)(3) organization, they could make real changes to help everyone in the community. Even if it started small, like getting a radio system for the community, they were determined to do it.
It took months to decide, but once they did, they hired a non-profit attorney group to make the Row River Fire Response happen.
