The West’s Wildfires Collide With its Housing Crisis
Oregon was already short 155,000 homes before fires destroyed thousands more, including a huge share of one county’s most affordable options. Where do people go now?
Search and rescue personnel from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office look for the possible remains of a missing elderly resident in a mobile home park in Ashland, Oregon, on September 11.
David Ryder/Getty Images North America
When he moved to Medford, Oregon, in 2016, a rented trailer was the best that Monty Potter could afford. The $950 per month he paid for the two-bedroom mobile home didn’t leave much room for error on his wages as a grocery store supervisor, but he could manage it for himself and his two school-aged sons.
Then came the Almeda fire. Starting in Ashland on September 8, flames ripped northward up the 18-mile greenway that connects a string of communities in Jackson County, all but wiping out the smallest two, Talent and Phoenix. Two people died and at least 2,350 homes were destroyed, including Potter’s, which stood near the Phoenix-Medford border. He wishes he’d known to pack a go-bag.