United Methodist Committee on Relief grants support wildfire recovery

PATEROS – The United Methodists Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has donated more than half a million dollars toward rebuilding homes lost in the 2020 wildfires in the greater Okanogan area. Three of those homes were dedicated in ceremonies at Monse, north of Brewster, on April 29, and in Bridgeport and Coulee City on April 30.

Rev. Sheila Miranda, associate for connectional ministries in the Pacific Northwest Conference, attended the dedication ceremonies and was amazed by the work many different organizations and volunteers put into rebuilding homes.

“One homeowner said, ‘you haven’t just given me back my home, you’ve given me back my life,'' Miranda said. “It was just a wonderful experience of seeing how organizations can accomplish so much more when they work together.”

In the two years since the wildfires the Okanogan County Long Term Recovery Group (OCLTRG) has closed all but 30 of the 200 cases it opened for initial damage assessments, said Dana Bryson, co-disaster response coordinator for the PNW Conference. The initial goal was to build six homes but thanks to the steady pace of funding that number was expanded to nine.

Four of the nine homes identified have been completed by OCLTRG working with ecumenical partners. Three of the remaining homes are under construction and on schedule to be completed this spring.

Bryson said a new UMCOR $88,000 extension grant will allow OCLTRG to continue funding a volunteer coordinator and rebuilding manager and purchase supplies.

“I focused this grant on what we needed to support our volunteers,” Bryson said.

A combination of factors has allowed the rebuilding phase to move along swiftly.

• An initial $10,000 UMCOR Solidarity Grant allowed disaster response personnel to provide immediate support in the form of hygiene and school supply kits.

• UMCOR supplied a $100,000 Recovery Grant.

• The PNW Conference Disaster Response Fund provided $60,000 for wildfire recovery.

• UMCOM provided another $250,000 last year to support continued rebuilding efforts.

• A recovery structure was already in place following the 2014-15 wildfires. That made getting organized for the 2020 fires much faster and easier. Disaster rebuilding and recovery efforts typically take four or five years.

UMCOR’s letter of intent to support OCLTRG triggered collaboration from ecumenical partners including the Red Cross, Catholic Charities, and Mennonite Disaster Services. OCLTRG hopes to close any remaining cases this year, less than three years after the 2020 fires.