Support for my mom, home destroyed by Santiam Fire

"Looks like we're in the clear." Seven hours later, my mother and her partner, Nick, escaped with next to no warning from their home outside Lyons, on the banks of the North Santiam. They awoke to a level 3 evacuation notice from an hour prior and downed trees already blocking the only road out. If not for the help of some quick-thinking neighbors who cut a path through their yards and fences, my mother's plan was to run into the river and hope for the best. Luckily, they narrowly escaped, turning onto Highway 22 as flames licked at the woods on the other side of the road... But their luck just about stopped there.

My mother and Nick got out with not much more than the clothes they'd woken up in. In the panic of the moment, she grabbed an iPad, Social Security cards, and a scrapbook of my siblings and I. The fruit of a lifetime of hard work, turned to ash. That's what they're left with, no backup storage unit or savings fund: Nothing.

My mother was employed in the service industry and lost her job during the onset of the COVID pandemic. She also endured the seemingly endless unemployment delays, and as was the case for most folks, quickly waved unemployment checks goodbye to repay the debts accrued during quarantine. The wildfires could not have come at a worse time, as Nick is less than a month away from a costly double hip replacement surgery. Several more months of unemployment and outrageous bills were already in their cards: The Santiam Fire only compounded it.

This money will be used towards the security deposit and first month's rent on a new house to move into as Nick recovers from his surgery. The remainder will be used in the mean time to support my mother (while she is housed in a camper on family's property), covering food, bills, and other miscellaneous expenses.

Thank you for your time in reading this GoFundMe, and I greatly appreciate whatever contribution you are able to make! Anything helps, please share!