News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Dishwasher fire
To the Editor:
On June 29, while we were both in town, our dishwasher caught fire and destroyed our kitchen and filled our home with black smoke. We have hesitated to respond here, while our community faced another fire threat of homes and lives recently.
First, we want to thank the Cloverdale Fire District, Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District, and Redmond Fire Department for their quick response to our 911 call, and their ability to put out the fire and limit the damage. We were told by the fire chief the house was only minutes from being fully engulfed by the fire.
Second, although the fire was contained within the kitchen, the smoke damage has required an enormous cleaning response of the entire house, and all contents that will take months to complete.
Thirdly, we have heard from many of our friends and neighbors, our experience has taught them to never fill and start the dishwasher or dryer and go to bed or leave.
We are grateful everything we lost can be replaced. Except our elderly dog, Maddy, who was left sleeping, but was found hiding in our closet as the house filled with smoke.
Today, thankfully Maddy is okay and so are we.
Ron and Tamara Faris
Angels
To the Editor,
Janet Schwartz, thank you for your letter in the August 5, Nugget relaying your deep gratitude and appreciation for all the caring angels around us who reached out to help you and those of us evacuated from our homes on July 22.
I write to add another angel. My husband and I evacuated to Cottage Grove and checked into the Best Western. We mentioned to the desk clerk that we evacuated from the fire in Sisters. He immediately told us that it’s their policy to discount the room rate for evacuees of fires and other disasters to ease our burden. We stayed there three nights, each at the discounted rate. The staff was kind, caring, and supportive. With deep appreciation and gratitude to these angels.
Wendy Birnbaum
Grateful for protectors
To the Editor:
As our community moves forward from the Akawa Butte Fire, I want to take a moment to say thank you.
To the firefighters, first responders, law enforcement, emergency personnel, and everyone who worked tirelessly to protect Sisters and the surrounding area, thank you. Your professionalism, courage, and commitment to keeping our community safe are deeply appreciated.
I’m also incredibly grateful for the way the Sisters community responded. Once again, we saw what makes this place so special. Neighbors helped neighbors, people looked out for one another, and our local businesses and their employees worked hard to stay open, adapt and continue serving residents and visitors during a difficult and uncertain time.
The timing of this fire has been especially challenging. July and August are some of the most important months of the year for our local economy. For many businesses, a strong summer helps sustain them through the quieter months ahead. When wildfire, smoke and uncertainty cause visitors to change their plans, the impacts are felt throughout our community, from lodging and restaurants to shops, galleries, recreation providers and their employees.
As conditions continue to improve, we can all help. Shop locally. Grab a meal or a cup of coffee. Attend an event. Invite friends and family to visit. Every dollar spent locally makes a difference.
Wildfire reminds us how vulnerable our community can be. It also reminds us how resilient Sisters is.
On behalf of Explore Sisters, thank you to everyone who protected, supported and continues to show up for our community.
Scott Humpert
Explore Sisters Executive Director
Fire thanks
To the Editor:
As we watch wildfires threaten our community once again, I’d like to express gratitude that extends beyond our own backyard and our own pockets.
First, thank you to the firefighters and emergency crews protecting Central and Eastern Oregon. Whether they came from Sisters, Redmond, Bend, Portland, Salem, Eugene, Medford, or countless other Oregon communities, they left their own homes to help protect ours. We owe them our sincere thanks.
I’d also like to broaden a bit further and thank our fellow Oregonians, the taxpayers.
Wildfires of this scale simply cannot be fought by the resources of a small rural community alone. As federal support becomes less certain, statewide resources matter even more. Most of Oregon’s tax and lottery revenue is generated in the state’s larger population centers, the economic engines helping make it possible to send crews and equipment wherever they’re needed.
We take pride in living in a small town, and we should. But let’s not allow that pride to become isolation. When Sisters is in danger, Oregon shows up, Oregonians show up. That’s something worth remembering and something worth being grateful for.
The next time I drive over the pass into the Valley, I’ll do so with a little more appreciation. I’ll know the people I pass on the sidewalks of Portland, Salem, Eugene, and the other communities of our state aren’t just fellow Oregonians, they’re partners. They helped protect my home. If the day ever comes when they need us, I hope we’ll be there without hesitation.
Thank you, fellow Oregonians.
Glen Roper
Volunteers
To the Editor:
My eyes teared up as I read the article in the August 5 issue of The Nugget about 4-H and FFA, which highlighted the accomplishments of Sisters’ young participants. How fitting that they had a front-page picture and article. In the story, we learned of the many things kids learn that go far beyond animal husbandry, such as budgeting, managing a checking account, marketing, responsibility, and leadership.
My cheers were not only for the kids who walked away with impressive prizes. They were just as much for all the volunteers who make that program happen. The paper reported that nationally they number 611,800!
Reading about the many hours these dedicated individuals spent reminded me of the joy of working with girls and leaders in Girl Scouts, and of my husband’s tireless efforts as a referee in competitive swimming.
We often hear moaning about “what’s happening to society” when we reflect on the state of the world, without acknowledging the many young people are doing exceptionally well. My guess is that in nearly 100 percent of those examples, a volunteer was unselfishly championing them on. I recognize this in my own kids, and now grandkids, as they contribute to society.
If you have just a few minutes a week to spare and want to add amazing joy to your life, connect with a youth organization and volunteer. Even if you think you’ve nothing to share, you do. Guaranteed! There’s always a way you can help. Not only will you be helping to change the life of a young person, but you will also be strengthening society and finding joy you never imagined.
Edie Jones
Wildfire
To the Editor:
Four coordinated priorities:
1. Create a shared Sisters Landscape Wildfire Resilience GIS map, quickly. Bring together fire perimeters and burn severity, existing and planned treatments, untreated corridors, ownership boundaries, evacuation routes, community fuel breaks, and potential grant projects. A common operating picture would help partners identify gaps, sequence work, and coordinate maintenance. Complete this by the fall of 2026.
2. Expand a connected treatment network across ownership boundaries. Link thinned ponderosa stands, reduced juniper and ladder fuels, treated grass and brush, prescribed-fire units, recent burn scars, roads and defensible control lines. Close untreated gaps and extend the proven canyon-rim treatment where terrain, ownership, and firefighter safety make it most valuable. Perform this during the 2026-2027 fall, winter, and spring period.
3. Maintain treatments over time. Pair mechanical thinning with slash removal and prescribed fire, then maintain grass, brush, and regrowth. A project that is not maintained provides only temporary success. We need a team to find annual funding for th