Engulfed
Equipped with little more than shovels and hoses, fourth-year student doctor Justine Lawson and her family did all they could to fight the flames that surrounded their rural Oregon home.
Today, as people across the west coast continue to reel from a historic wildfire season, Lawson brings readers into the flames of the Obenchain Wildfire, and illustrates the impact that such natural disasters are having on communities throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
I had just finished another day at the clinic and was walking toward my car when my phone rang. It was my mom.
“The fire department is evacuating everyone in our neighborhood,” she told me. “We will not be able to help you if you don’t leave,” they told her.
I immediately drove over three hours back to my hometown to help.
When I arrived, the most difficult decision we were faced with was whether to stay or go. After packing up everything we needed so we could leave at any moment, we decided to stay and fight. We then spent over 36 hours fighting off the wildfire.
A tractor, small water tank sprayers, hoses, and shovels were our weapons. Since there were so many fires blazing across southern Oregon — and throughout the west coast — no fire departments were deployed to help us.
Soon, we were surrounded. The flames wrapped around us, 360 degrees. At one point, I had to run from wind-pushed flames coming straight at me. One thing they don’t tell you: wildfires sound like freight trains. They’re so loud it’s difficult to concentrate. I took the dogs and other animals to safety after driving through blazed highways while my incredibly brave mom fought to save her house from the 50 foot blaze only 150 feet away. The horses were released into the pasture and managed to move around, avoiding the flames.
The yellow dot on this map represents the approximate location of the Lawson’s home. The red outline illustrates the perimeters of the Obenchain Wildfire.
Multiple fires were ignited within the same 36 hour period starting on September 8, so resources were limited. In fact, during that week, approximately 500,000 Oregonians were displaced due to all the fires happening in the state, which is estimated to be about 10% of the state’s population.
The Alameda Fire, which is now categorized as one of the most destructive fires ever on the west coast (destroying 700+ homes and 100+ businesses), was happening at the same time we were fighting to save our family home. Arial support and the majority of hot-shot ground crews were deployed to that fire. The South Obenchain fire, which destroyed over 20,000 acres within the first 24 hours, is the one that destroyed our area and ripped through my home. As of this writing, the fire had burned over 32,000 acres and was 95% contained.
65-70% of our property was lost to fire. We saved our home and our animals, but so much devastation surrounds us. Neighborhood homes and miles of beautiful, scenic highway are destroyed and charred -- it looks apocalyptic. We drove around to search for life and saw a familiar wild fox with a slightly burnt tail, a few deer families, and a stray singed and charcoal-covered cat hovering in areas of retained greenery. We made sure to leave food and water.
As you can imagine, the weeks following our fight have been very difficult. Friends of mine lost everything. We lost power for about 10 days, so basic needs were difficult. Also, the stress of spot fires flaring up was a legitimate concern. Those challenges were layered onto the challenge of trying to recover mentally from a life-changing ordeal. Still, we are fortunate to have saved important structures on our property. Many of my neighbors weren’t so lucky.
There are thousands of displaced people living in tents at our local expo. They have nothing left; they have nowhere to go. My family has been organizing donations along with many local food banks, pet stores, and local businesses.
I’ve included some links at the end of this writing. Please visit them and give whatever you can.
Help Those Affected
Resources for Wildfire Victims & Those Who Want to Help
Oregon Voluntary Organizations Active In Disaster
The Red Cross is also accepting donations and providing housing. The organization cannot accept material donations, however, due to COVID-19, so financial donations are best.
In addition, I encourage anyone who has extra housing (AirBnB, rental housing, etc) to provide temporary housing for those affected.
Justine Lawson
Fourth-Year Osteopathic Medical Student (OMS IV)
Student Ambassador
Community Outreach Leader, Gold Humanism Honor Society
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences