Chelan community rallies to revitalize economy after devastating wildfires

This past summer’s wildfires that ravaged north-central Washington are but a distant memory for many of us on this side of the mountains.

But the clean up and recovery will go on for years.

In Chelan, the complex of fires that broke out in August have left scarred hillsides and significantly diminished bank accounts.

“They touched virtually everyone,” said Sharon Lucas, the executive director of Chelan Valley Hope.

The local non-profit aid agency has been at the forefront of relief and recovery efforts from the moment the flames came racing down the mountainside and threatened the north shore of town, and all of its homes, hotels and businesses.

“You do feel helpless. There’s nothing you can do but pray,” Lucas said.

The fires destroyed several dozen homes, structures, vehicles and a massive Chelan Fruit Company packing plant just north of town. From food to housing, Chelan Valley Hope was inundated with calls for help.

“We’re usually only open two days a week, but we started being open every day as people scrambled to at least regain their footing for emergency needs,” Lucas said.

Several months later, those needs continue.

One of the big challenges is figuring out how best to help everyone affected by the fires &#8212 especially those who didn’t have insurance or lost income and jobs, from cleaning hotel rooms to working in scorched orchards.

“We’ve been lucky so many have donated. But what many people don’t realize is this will go on for years,” Lucas said.

She points to towns stretching north of Chelan far into the Okanagan, where hundreds of homes were destroyed in the 2014 Carlton Complex fires.

Many are just now starting to rebuild, navigating the labyrinth of insurance and government aid, or simply trying to come up with the money to rebuild their lives. Many can’t, and end up leaving the area.

And Sharon says the fires also take a huge emotional toll on many.

“When there’s a lot to do after a disaster, cleanup and figuring out what you’re going to do, you stay really busy, but some times there’s a little bit of an after effect, kind of like PTSD,” she said. “People do have recurring emotional repercussions.”

There are plenty of visible reminders of just how far the area has to go to recover from the fires. Crews in huge bulldozers and other heavy equipment were hard at work this week cleaning up several acres of charred and twisted metal and concrete at the site of decimated Chelan Fruit plant. Even businesses not burned were still scorched, at least economically.

“It vapor-locked the town as far as activity and tourism. Nobody wants to be in a cloud of smoke,” said Russ McClellan, the owner of Frontline Real Estate and president of the Chelan Realtors Council.

The burned hillside just across from McCLellan’s office on the north side of Lake Chelan is a daily reminder of what was lost, and the recovery that lies ahead.

“I’d say two-thirds of August was non-existent for the most part and then a lot of people that also were planning on coming over later in the year in September canceled.” he said. “I’ve heard numbers 40-50 percent of normal in the tourism sector. And many times the people that are coming her for the first time fall in love and they turn into our clients in real estate.”

The impact extends far beyond town. The charred remains of blackened pine trees, barren hillsides and piles of debris dot Antoine Creek Road. It’s a partly paved, partly gravel road where long time homesteads have given way to farms and orchards.

“Oh it got hot,” said Tom Ryan as he walked around the sprawling farm his grandfather homesteaded in the early 1900’s You could hear it crackle popping. “Over here it got so hot it started melting the paint on our house.”

The fire destroyed their family’s original home but miraculously their house was spared.

Ryan says they’ve been through plenty of fires over the decades, but never like this. It moved so fast, they were only given 15 minutes to evacuate.

I first met Tom and his wife, Lorraine, at the weekly Rotary Club meeting, where they came to thank members for a weekend work party that replaced a long line of fence posts burned in the fire.

“It was really something to see all these folks lend a hand,” Ryan said.

Several months later, the fires continue dominating conversation as members talk about how to continue helping others in the community. Last weekend’s work project was just one example of the generosity coming from near and far.

“We just keep getting checks,” Chelan Valley Hope’s Lucas said. “It’s amazing.”

But the concern is people will soon forget, and the donations will stop.

Thankfully, there’s always the lake. Russ is confident the tourists and their money will return, the charred trees replanted. And with upscale wineries, golf courses and increasing development, he says the biggest challenge now is just getting the word out for people to come back.

“Definitely. The fires are out and we want the world to know Chelan is still here, the lake’s still in, the sun’s still shining and by next spring it’ll be green and it’ll be a beautiful place one more time.”