CORBETT, Ore. (KOIN) — For thousands of people in the Eagle Creek Fire evacuation zone, life is slowly returning to some sense of normalcy.
In Corbett, where they’re under a Level 2 and Level 3 evacuation notice, district officials decided the best thing to do was get students back in school and back to a normal schedule as soon a possible.
The elementary, middle and high schools are all under a Level 2 evacuation — be ready to evacuate — as is the nearby Corbett Country Market.
For days, the town has been smothered with smoke. Alexis Kruger, a cashier at the market, said business has been way down but she’s glad the skies cleared up.
“The smoke has dissipated today,” Kruger said. “Finally feels like a normal day.”
Evacuation totals, Sept. 12:
> Multnomah County Level 3 evacuations: 166
> Multnomah County Level 2 evacuations: 944
> Hood River County Level 3 evacuations: 283
> Hood River County Level 2 evacuations: 395
Kruger, whose family had to evacuate, said she hopes her family and her customers get to return soon.
“Way less people getting gas, food,” she said.
“We got to move back into our house,” she said. “We had 2 dogs, 3 cats and a parrot, so a lot of things to move. I hated being away. It was off-putting, and then having to come back.”
But life won’t be back to normal for a while for evacuee Maya Murphy.
“We were 5 miles away from the fire, where it started,” she said. She had been staying at the Red Cross shelter at the Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, but that was moved to the Harvest Christian Church in Troutdale because classes at resuming.
“You get to know the building, where everything is and you switch over to another place,” Murphy said. “It’s hard changing up and moving into a new place and having to pack up everything real quick.”
Until it’s determined the fire line is held, there won’t be any changes to the evacuation levels. About 1800 homes remain under a Level 2 or Level 3 evacuation notice.
