Clare and Truman lost their home in the Almeda Fire in southern Oregon on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.  Their house in Talent, Oregon burned to the ground with only the chimney and porch steps still standing. They are left with only the possessions Clare was able to walk out with.  

I am Clare's cousin, and live in California.  I am hoping to raise some funds to help them get on their feet again.  Any small donation is welcome with blessings and gratitude.  Thank you!

From Clare:

On Tuesday, our house (and half the town) was burned down…

On Tuesday afternoon, I was able to evacuate our house on foot with a backpack and suitcase full of clothes, our passports and social security cards, my laptop, Truman’s iPad, and my purse. I met Aunt Andy and Uncle Steve on the road and they were able to drive me away to safety. (Truman was stranded in Ashland and not allowed to go into or near Talent, which was really scary).

We didn’t know what had happened to our house all night— we kept hearing different reports saying, “everything south of this road is burned down” or “Truman, I just drove by your house and it’s still there!” We drove to Talent on Wednesday morning after spending the night at a friends’ house in the Applegate. We drove up to our street… and all the houses on the left were burned down. There were burned-out cars, burned-out washing machines and dryers, metal deck furniture. And that’s it.

When we drove up to our house, I saw the metal fence and bushes and they looked fine. I was so hopeful.

But then we got the full view, and the only thing left standing was the cement steps leading up to where the front door used to be and the chimney. No houses behind our house survived either - I think all the way to Hwy 99. I sank to the ground. I stared at the spot our house used to be, our home, and kept trying to fill the empty air with what once stood.

Eventually I stood up to walk around, and parts of the rubble were still on fire. I walked over to my old Honda Civic, and it was completely burned-out. Our garden was gone, with only a few charred cherry tomatoes on the vine. I could see where the BBQ used to be on the back deck. I could see the metal frame of an outdoor bench Mum gave us (which I’m going back for). I found a melted guitar stand with the strings of my guitar melted over it.

I’m very grateful to be safe and sound now though. But we lost everything. All of our kitchen equipment, our books, bookshelves, sofa and sofa bed, the Eames chair (Elmer), bed, dresser, coffee table, desk, dining set, BBQ, plates, cups, clothes, linens…literally everything we owned.