Six months after the fires: Where are they now?

Imagine losing everything: A place to live, family photos, birth certificates, insurance records, irreplaceable mementos, and for at least one family, a precious pet. The magnitude of the September wildfires was so great that even now, six months later, new reminders surface almost daily. You remember the Christmas gift you’d stashed in the attic in July or a new set of tools you never got to use.

But time and an overwhelming response from friends, neighbors and co-workers have helped smooth some of grief’s jagged edges. For many Asante employees most affected by the disaster, despair has given way to gratitude. Over the next two weeks, Asante News will share some of their stories.

“We are incredibly blessed”

Kris and Van Castleman were forced to act quickly on Sept. 8 when they learned that a fire was racing toward their home in Phoenix’s Creekside Estates. With hundreds of people evacuating, the couple wondered how they’d ever get onto the traffic-choked Highway 99. Then a driver opened a gap to let them through. It was a small gesture, but one that signaled the grace that would carry them through the tragedy.

A friend offered them a place to stay and they began to rebuild their lives, starting with the basic necessities. Immediately after the fires, Asante had converted the Smullin Center to a donation collection site. Kris, a referral coordinator with APP–Neurology, and Van, a process improvement analyst for ARRMC, stopped by to see what they could find. “There were so many items, including shoes, but there were no shoes in our size,” Kris said. “About two hours after we left, we received a text from one of the volunteers stating that they had shoes for us. Someone took time out of their day and bought us the very shoes we are wearing today. Priceless.”

When the couple was finally allowed to return home, they found total devastation except for one thing. Amid the debris and ash was a painted rock they kept on a shelf below their television. It bore the words: “Live by faith one day at a time.”

“This has been our motto,” said Kris.

The couple was planning to move into the RV park Asante had built to house displaced employees when their former landlord offered them an apartment in North Medford. They’re now rebuilding on their old spot in Phoenix and having fun working with the builder to design their new home. If all goes well, they’ll move in before Thanksgiving.

“Never in a million years would we have seen this traumatic event happening to us, let alone our small communities,” Kris says. “As painful as this has been, we are incredibly blessed. ‘Thank you’ does not carry the weight of the gratitude we have.”

Finding a place to  live

The Almeda fire carried a double punch for residents living in manufactured and mobile home communities.  These homes accounted for more than a third of the 2,800 dwellings lost, and with them went a large swath of affordable housing.

After the fire destroyed her home in Medford Estates, Maribel Celis Solis, a nurse at Asante Ashland, found herself competing with thousands of others seeking a place to live.

She and her family stayed at a friend’s house the first night, then bounced between motels and Airbnbs in Yreka, Medford and Gold Hill before moving into the Asante RV Park.

“I will never forget co-workers calling me to make sure my family and I were safe,” she said, “and their prompt response in offering clothes and food.”

Insurance didn’t cover what she’d lost and she didn’t qualify for FEMA assistance. Meanwhile, sellers were raising prices on the few homes listed. Maribel finally found a fixer-upper in Grants Pass. It’s far from her job, but appreciated nonetheless.

Dora Negrete, who works in Environmental Services at ARRMC, found herself in similar straits when the fire destroyed her home in Talent Mobile Estates. She was able to evacuate with her dog, Scoovy, but everything the family owned was gone. Their grief was captured by an Associated Press photographer shortly after the fire.

Dora was lucky in one respect. She didn’t have to compete with other displaced families for permanent housing. Her son bought a home and she’s now living with him.

“It was a really horrific experience,” she said. “It’s hard to lose everything we worked really hard for in a matter of seconds.”

Next week: We catch up with more employees displaced by the fire.

How Asante helped

The wildfires that swept through Ashland, Talent and Phoenix in September displaced more than 100 Asante employees and destroyed the homes of 80 workers.  The response by the community and Asante employees was overwhelming.

It included:

• $134,000 in assistance provided to 134 employees through Asante Foundation’s Wildfire Compassion Fund
• $10,000 worth of gift cards from Asante
• Construction of a 32-unit RV park for temporary housing
• 300 shifts covered by 200 employees
• $40,000 donated by employees
• 1,400 donated ETO hours
• Donated clothing, supplies and toys collected at Smullin Center
• A Fire Loss Support Facebook page from employees offering everything from housing to furniture
• Fresh produce and flowers to fire victims
• Hundreds of employees and their family volunteering at the Smullin donation center