Chetco Bar Fire Stories: Curry News and Views
Note: Jan Barbas was the sole administrator for the Facebook group “Curry News & Views”, which was where many community members turned during the Chetco Bar Fire for up-to-date and factual information about the fire. The group also had a moderating team; during the fire, it was Candi Berry; currently, it’s Bill Buchanan, Dena Nickell, and Sean Armstrong.
Recently, I was spending a lazy day at my home in Gold Beach when the emergency siren began to blare. It kept sounding and sounding. It wasn’t the regular monthly test, was it? Was it a tsunami? Or some other disaster? I logged onto my computer, clicked on the Curry News and Views Facebook Page, and immediately had my answer directly from Curry County Emergency Services Coordinator, Jeremy Dumire. No tsunami: just a routine test with the siren. I got quick, accurate information.
A post to CN&V from July 30, 2018.
It turns out that Curry News and Views, along with other local Facebook pages, isn’t just good for answering questions like mine; it also plays a crucial communication role for our communities, no matter what the situation. That was especially evident during last year’s Chetco Bar Fire, when Curry News & Views – and other social networking groups – kept our communities informed as the disaster played itself out.
A Go-to Place for Factual News
During the Chetco Bar Fire, Curry News & Views (CN&V) in particular saw a dramatic shift in its fundamental role. At the time of the fire, CN&V was facilitated by Jan Barbas, and grew from about 2,000 members at the start of the summer to over 4,800 by the end of 2017; the group gained approx. 1,500 members over the 5-6 week period during the worst of the fire.
“I think it (CN&V) took off during the fire like it did because we just don’t have a place through which to get daily news,” Jan Barbas said, “and since I was the admin of the group, it was a natural thing for me to post news about the fire there. There was a lot of misinformation floating around, and I just wanted to provide factual, up-to-date info as rapidly as possible.” He explained that CN&V became the “go-to” place for factual news due in part to the number of regulars who became, in essence, “citizen reporters” and who posted often.
Jan’s science-tech background helped him wade through all the information efficiently. “I was well-versed at doing the research that it took to get the correct information,” he said, “and so what I was doing on CN&V – about 60% research vs. 40% posting – just came naturally.”
“Of course, I had no idea it would become so all-consuming,” he continued, “but from the time I woke to the time I went to bed, I was focused on the fire and on updating through CN&V. I would go directly to the source – and of course, the sources changed as the fire changed – and got updates on just about everything, which I was then able to post rapidly. It just sort of took off from there!”
A smoke plume map posted by Jan Barbas in CN&V, August 27, 2017.
Connecting People and Resources
In addition to providing accurate and timely information, CN&V found itself connecting people with resources. They were not the only Facebook group that took on this crucial role. The Chetco Bar Fire Help Page, now the Chetco Bar Fire Help Page/Southern Oregon Fire Help Page, started by Ryan Hanners, had a primary function to connect resources to the people who needed them. Curry County Horse, Livestock, and Pet Disaster Support, started by Jessica Carrillo, took on a similar function as well, with a focus on getting people the support they needed to evacuate and care for their animals during the fire. (Read more about the animal evacuation in our first Chetco Bar Fire story: A Safe Place for the Animals.)
A lot of Jan’s time as the CN&V admin was spent connecting folks with each other. “Stuff would get posted on Curry News and Views, and I’d get it to the right people to get done whatever needed to get done,” he explained. “For instance, when Jessie G wanted to do a benefit concert, Willy Goergen contacted me through Facebook Messenger, and I put him in touch with Wild Rivers Community Foundation, who took it from there.”
A photo posted by a CN&V member requesting information on where to donate quarters so firefighters could do laundry during the Chetco Bar Fire.
Air quality became an real threat for many during the fire and Curry News and Views became an information conduit for people needing help. During the Chetco Bar Fire, the Forest Service brought in four air monitor units. But the smoke was so thick that the sensors would fail, causing the units to go off-line repeatedly.
Jan recalls smoke being an issue, “I also remember when people started reaching out to me through Messenger about the Brookings Red Cross shelter and the smoke issues there.” He continued, “for instance, a lady was evacuated from her home in Brookings because of the smoke, but she couldn’t stay at the Brookings shelter…because of the smoke! I helped her coordinate with Oasis Shelter in Gold Beach, and then with the Red Cross, once they moved their shelter to Gold Beach…just in time for this particular lady.”
The lack of clean air shelters resulted in many having to leave the area because they couldn’t breathe due to the horrible air quality; Del Norte County was able to establish some air quality shelters, but at the time Curry was not able to get that done. Today, though, Jan reports that both the Governor and Representative David Brock Smith have taken up this issue and the State is looking at how to improve response in the future.
Facebook pages also became a way for people to find evacuation information. Jan was “super impressed” by the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation’s efforts to help evacuees by opening up Ship Ashore for them. “They showed us the right way to do it,” Jan said, “they provided food, power, space for RV’s, WIFI, allowed pets…they took care of people’s needs first, and worried about the rest of it after.” (Read more about the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation’s shelter in our Chetco Bar Fire story: The Tolowa Dee-Ni’ Nation.)
A post from CN&V member offering food resources during the Chetco Bar Fire.
People Came Together
Jan, like so many of the others we interviewed, was struck by the way people came together to help one another. Facebook groups became a platform to facilitate that coming together. CN&V morphed into one of the main places to go for information about the Chetco Bar Fire: the where, the how, and what to do to help. People just naturally gravitated toward the group because it was apparent that answers could be found there.
“It was so heart-warming,” Jan remembered, “the way people came together during the worst of it all. There were the folks who helped evacuate the animals; the people who stayed and defended property; the people who came from out of town and helped clear defensible space; the people who opened their homes for others. There was the Sheriff coordinating with the fire departments, handling the evacuations in an orderly fashion.”
Jan reflected on the fire, “we were completely unprepared for this fire. Lesson learned – we need to have a coordinated community response team in place before the next time.”
The Chetco Bar Fire has shown that social media, and groups like CN&V, will likely play a role in that response. We have already seen these groups sharing crucial information during the 2018 fire season, with updates on the Lobster Creek Fire, the Taylor Creek Fire, the Klondike Fire and others, as well as resources for people who need them.
This story was based on an interview with Jan Barbas conducted by Kathleen Dickson on March 16th, 2018. Thank you to Jan for making this story possible and for the other Facebook administrators who work to get accurate information and help to those who need it.
CN&V continues to be a source of local information, including posts like this, of the 2018 Klondike Fire progression map.
