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Volunteers clear 14 lots in Blue River after Holiday Farm Fire


Volunteers clear 14 lots in Blue River after Holiday Farm Fire (SBG)
Volunteers clear 14 lots in Blue River after Holiday Farm Fire (SBG)
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LANE COUNTY, Ore. — Volunteers are helping clean up fire-damaged homes in Blue River this weekend, and so far they've cleared 14 lots.

The cleanup started Friday and goes through Sunday.

This weekend the volunteer team helps make properties look a bit cleaner.


That cleanup is being put on by the Cascade Relief Team and reach out worldwide a disaster relief nonprofit founded by the late Paul Walker.

His brother Cody now runs that organization. Today he oversaw the cleanup in Blue River.

"It's like a bunch of locusts descending on a homesite in a way we just we hit it and I think we've been knocking out a home site in less than an hour," Walker said.

After getting permission from homeowners and testing for asbestos, volunteers start by removing debris.

"Just working our way through the different properties and collecting all the metal," said Brian Mersereau, a volunteer. "We've got loggers out here doing tree work. We've got all sorts of volunteers."

Once the metal is gone, the team sifts through what's left and gets rid of the ash.

The cleanup crew actually found a woman's wedding ring on Saturday.

40 volunteers came to help out Friday, and over 50 on Saturday.

People are driving in from hours away just to put in even just a day's worth of time it's really incredible. Many planning to make the trip again on Sunday.

"We've suffered quite a bit as a community with the wildfires with the pandemic and to take a couple of days off from work to help out people that have lost nearly everything is a small price to pay and I'm happy to do it," Mersereau said.

The last day of the cleanup is on Sunday, and they're still looking for volunteers.

Next weekend, the Cascade Relief Team will put on another cleanup.

If you're interested in volunteering for either, you can visit the Reach Out Worldwide website or cascaderelief.org.

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