It has been nearly four months since the McKinley Fire started in Caswell. Since then, there have been numerous efforts to help families impacted by the fire, including providing food, clothing, shelter, and money. Now, multiple groups are working together to organize continuing work toward long-term recovery.
In the wake of a disaster, there is often a great deal of short-term help available. Volunteers and donations come pouring in, often faster than those organizing relief efforts can process them. It takes time for the chaos of an event like the McKinley Fire to die down, and for the true rebuilding to begin.
Helping to organize that rebuilding is one of the goals of the McKinley Fire Long Term Recovery Group. In total, more than a dozen local non-profits are participating, including a number of faith-based organizations. Teri Petram is the secretary for the Long Term Recovery Group. She says the goal is to target recovery assets to the specific needs of each family.
“We use a process called case management, where the surviving family has an opportunity to discuss what their personal goals and needs are. Then, the long-term recovery group will take that information and pool the resources together that we have to help them achieve their goals.”
Tom Phillips is the vice-chair of the group. He was also active in Sockeye Fire recovery efforts in 2015, and he believes the case management model will help in making sure the correct aid gets where it’s needed.
“With the Sockeye Fire, it was really…helter skelter, because you just didn’t know what was coming the very next day. When something came in the door the next day, we tried to get it out as well as we could.”
To that end, organizations have stopped taking bulk donations that often come in during the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Instead, once a family’s needs are clear, requests for specific types of assistance will be sent out.
One of the biggest challenges in recovery from a disaster like the McKinley Fire is rebuilding for those who lost homes. While building season has ended, LTRG board member Ned Sparks, who lost his own home in the fire, says the winter is a good time to plan for when the ground thaws next spring.
“We can look at drawings. We can look at estimates of construction costs and those kind of things. This would be an ideal time to take care of that for anyone who’s taking a look at rebuilding- to step back for a few minutes, take a look at what your plans are. Come to us; let us help you figure it out, and then we’ll put our resources, as they become available, to work for you.”
Everyone involved in the recovery knows it is far from an overnight process. Non-profits are navigating grant cycles, and building plans take time. Once the case management system is in place, the long-term recovery group plans to have a phone number that fire survivors can use to request assistance. Until that number is available, those who need assistance, or who wish to help, can contact the United Way of Mat-Su at 907-373-5807.
