Fire survivors from the 2020 Almeda and South Obenchain fires living in FEMA trailers in Southern Oregon face housing uncertainty, as an federally-mandated 18 month deadline approaches this month. At least 150 families who reside in the mobile homes received letters from the agency informing them that they either need to move out, pay rent, or purchase the trailers by the date assigned.

For many fire survivors, the $1695 average monthly rent exceeds their budget, and purchasing the trailer could mean moving it to a new, undetermined location. And, while FEMA acknowledged that Southern Oregon has an inadequate inventory of available housing and assured residents that they could apply for a reduction in rent based on household income, many fear that they will be evicted and have nowhere to go.

According to a February 2, 2022 Oregon Publish Broadcasting article, FEMA representative, Paul Corah, “FEMA’s working with the survivors about what that scale is. The minimum is $50.”

What is unclear is whether people living in the trailers will have undergone the FEMA processing for reducing rent or will face eviction.

Each of the parks housing the FEMA trailers in Jackson County have been assigned different dates of compliance – including a rumored February 28 eviction at Jackson County Expo Center and Immigrant Lake Campground –  and the issue highlights the inequity in recovery efforts and housing alternatives for those who lost everything in the 2020 fires.

This March, Oregon’s legislature will consider allocating an additional $400 million to address the rising homelessness crisis across the state, while real estate prices soar. How can we, in good conscience, stand by while hundreds of families, whose lives were disrupted by fires, face the cruel reality of becoming unhoused?