Oregon Fires

2020 · JACKSON, MARION, LINN, LANE COUNTIES, OREGON

2,681

ALMEDA STRUCTURES

1,500

SANTIAM STRUCTURES

455

HOLIDAY FARM STRUCTURES

4,636

TOTAL COMBINED

Summary

The 2020 Oregon Fires, ignited during Labor Day wind events, destroyed thousands of homes across Southern and Western Oregon. The Almeda Fire is the clearest prior example in our national record of equity as a primary recovery variable. Santiam produced a healthcare-anchored recovery model. Holiday Farm demonstrated how infrastructure dependencies can stall an entire valley.

Why It Matters

The Oregon fires produced major innovations in equitable housing recovery, manufactured housing protection, FEMA housing flexibility, and rural recovery systems. They also revealed how disasters disproportionately harm low-income residents, manufactured home park residents, and rural communities with limited infrastructure.

"Rural recovery works best when trusted local institutions become the organizing structure." - After the Fire USA

A stop sign with an arrow stands by a burned-down building, a stark reminder of the Oregon Fires, on a sunny, clear day.
Six people stand talking in a parking lot on a sunny day, with mountains and clouds in the background—a scene marked by recent Oregon fires lingering just beyond the horizon.
A group of people stands smiling in front of a colorful mural featuring vibrant, geometric buildings, created to honor the resilience of communities affected by the Oregon Fires.
A river runs through a rural area with houses, trees, and a damaged wooden bridge under a cloudy sky, hinting at the impact of recent Oregon Fires.
A burnt building with a window showing charred debris and blue sky beyond, surrounded by damaged walls—a haunting reminder of the devastation from the Oregon Fires.
Large stacks of cut logs lie on the ground in front of a forest with many bare, leafless trees on a hillside, a stark reminder of landscapes impacted by the Oregon Fires.

Quick Facts

The Fires

Almeda Fire (2020)
2,681 structures · Jackson County · Urban Interface · Rogue Valley
Santiam Canyon (2020)
1,500 structures · Linn + Marion Counties · Rural
Holiday Farm (2020)
455 structures · Lane County · Rural · McKenzie River Valley
Almeda Claimant Status
Arson fire; separate pathway
Santiam Claimant Status
Utility-related claimant pathway
Holiday Farm Claimant
Non-claimant or separate pathway
Key Equity Note
Almeda burned through high-renter, BIPOC, lower-income communities — standard homeowner systems failed them
Primary Innovation
Resident-owned manufactured housing (CASA Oregon) and FEMA infrastructure flexibility

Recovery Status

Almeda: progress uneven; affordable housing not replaced at scale; renter displacement documented

CASA Oregon converted Talent Mobile Estates to resident-owned community using Fannie Mae model

FEMA left modernized infrastructure in place at former Totem Pole park, a major recovery innovation

Santiam: hospital district led emergency activation, donation systems, and disaster case management

Holiday Farm: septic grants were the pivotal intervention ó unlocking permits stalled by infrastructure

School district in Talent and Phoenix played an important unifying role across divide

What Worked: Field-tested by After the Fire USA

Resident-owned manufactured housing — CASA Oregon used Fannie Mae financing model to convert a park to resident ownership

FEMA infrastructure flexibility — at Totem Pole park, FEMA agreed to leave modernized infrastructure in place post-housing mission

Hospital district-led recovery — in Santiam Canyon, the hospital district rapidly expanded into emergency coordination and disaster case management

Septic system grants — Holiday Farm: targeted grants solved a specific stall and unlocked the entire recovery pipeline

Our Work

After the Fire USA: Our Work in this community

After the Fire USA visited the Almeda Fire area several times and brought national partners, including Fannie Mae, to support recovery conversations. The organization advised on community recovery, shared legislative packages from California, and connected local leaders to resources. After the Fire USA also elevated the work of regional innovators including Lomakatsi Forest Restoration Project, which has used Indigenous-informed land stewardship, workforce development, and ecological restoration practices for decades. The Firebrand Resiliency Collective and Freres Wood Products were connected to community-to-community learning networks.

Links

CASA Oregon

https://permitsonoma.org/rebuilding

Lomakatsi Forest Restoration Project

https://lomakatsi.org/https://www.northbayforestimprovementprogram.com/

Firebrand Resiliency Collective

https://firebrandcollective.org/

Freres Wood Products

https://frereswood.com/

Policy Takeaways

Equity must be embedded in recovery planning from day one — homeowner-centric systems will fail renter-heavy communities

Manufactured housing requires specific protections — resident ownership models can prevent permanent displacement

Healthcare systems can anchor recovery delivery in rural communities where government capacity is thin

Septic and infrastructure gaps must be identified and funded before they stall entire communities

Centralized recovery data platforms are essential — and data must be disaggregated by income, tenure, and language

Our Analytical Framework

No Two Fires Recover the Same Way

Structure loss counts tell you what burned. They don't tell you who was there, whether the infrastructure could support a rebuild, or whether survivors had any real path to compensation. After eight years across fifteen+ fires, we use a six-dimension framework to assess what recovery actually requires — and why copying one fire's playbook onto another can do more harm than good.

Explore Our Cross-Fire Insights