Happy Holidays and Giving Tuesday/ Support People Durkee, Oregon Wildfire

We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the needs of our local community. From providing food and shelter to those in need during the Durkee Wildfire, we are committed to making a positive impact on the lives of those around us. By supporting Opulent Philanthropy Inc., you are supporting your community and helping to build a brighter future for all.

Wildfire Disaster Relief Fund:
Every contribution, big or small, will bring much-needed assistance to families struggling in the aftermath of this disaster.
Here's how your donation can help:
$25 can provide a care package with essential supplies for a family in need.
$50 can help ensure a family displaced by the fire has access to food and shelter.
$50 can help support firefighters.
$100 can contribute to debris removal efforts, making neighborhoods safe and accessible again.
We also accept DAF, Stock and Cryptocurrency on our website www.opulentusa.org/oregon
Reminder: Employees submit match request for monetary donations. If your employer requires an Employer Identification Number (EIN) 45-3088713

Powerful winds and hundreds of lightning strikes from thunderstorms rattled eastern Oregon and Idaho Wednesday afternoon, cutting power and stoking fires, including one in Oregon that is already the largest active blaze in the nation.
The Durkee fire, burning near the Oregon-Idaho border, caused the closure of a stretch of Interstate 84 again Wednesday. Amid rapidly forming storms in the afternoon, the blaze crossed the interstate near the town of Huntington, home to about 500 people. It also merged with the Cow Valley fire that had been burning nearby, Gov. Tina Kotek said.
“The wildfires in eastern Oregon have scaled up quickly,” Kotek said in a news release, calling it a dynamic situation. “We are facing strong erratic winds over the region that could impact all fires. Rain is not getting through. Some communities do not have power.”
She said she had deployed the National Guard to the region.
Evacuation orders were lifted Thursday for the city of Huntington, population 500, after a severe thunderstorm late Wednesday brought some rain and cooler temperatures. Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash called the rain a “godsend,” but residents were warned to be ready to go again at a moment’s notice.
The fire approached Alison Oszman’s home in Rye Valley, a small ranching area north of Huntington, last week, but they were able to protect their property with the help of Bureau of Land Management firefighters and neighbors, using small tanker trucks and shovels. They used a small dozer to keep it away from the house, she said.
Since their property was safe, her neighbor moved his horses and cattle over as the fire moved toward his ranch, she said. On Wednesday night, Oszman went to check his property and found that the fire came down a steep hillside and threatened his home.
“I went and parked our truck out in the field just in case those big trees by his house caught fire,” she said. “I was making sure sparks didn’t land in the dirt or the dry grass. But as the fire passed his house, it started raining.” The rain helped the firefighters get on top of the fire.
“It was pretty scary but everything seemed to fall into place,” she said. “Everybody helped everybody. It was actually pretty amazing for how crummy it really was.”
Wind, lightning and heavy rain remain ongoing dangers and could cause flash flooding and debris flows in recently burned areas, authorities said. Flash flood warnings were issued for Huntington and in a nearby burn scar area.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s office mobilized nearly 500 firefighters to help protect communities that could be threatened by wildfires.
More than 60 significant fires are burning in Oregon and Washington alone, and Oregon has been plagued with hundreds of lightning strikes from thunderstorms in recent days that have started new fires in bone-dry vegetation.
The smoke from the Durkee fire was choking the air, with an air quality warning in effect for the entire region on Wednesday.