How Coordinated Volunteers Are Clearing the Way for Safe Rebuilding After the Rowena Fire
In the Columbia River Gorge, survivors of the 2025 Rowena Fire are finally beginning to see a clearer path home. The wildfire destroyed more than 100 buildings, including over 50 homes in and around The Dalles and Rowena, and left behind dangerous, dead, and dying trees that have delayed rebuilding for months. Today, through cooperation, communication, coordination, and collaboration—the 4 Cs at the heart of ORVOAD—voluntary organizations and local partners are working together to remove those barriers and support long-term recovery.
Hazard Trees: A Critical Barrier ORVOAD Partners Are Tackling Together
Long after a wildfire is contained, survivors continue to face complex safety and recovery challenges. In Rowena, thousands of fire-damaged and dead trees have remained a critical obstacle, threatening homes, access roads, and work zones, and making it unsafe for many homeowners to move forward with rebuilding.
Recognizing that hazard tree removal is both technically demanding and emotionally difficult, ORVOAD members and public partners have focused on aligning resources so that this work can be done safely, efficiently, and at no cost to survivors. Through state support for debris and tree removal, local recovery coordination, and volunteer labor, the Rowena community is now seeing visible progress on one of the hardest parts of recovery.
Team Rubicon’s Greyshirts Answer the Call With ORVOAD Coordination Behind the Scenes
At the request of the Village of Rowena, and as part of a broader, coordinated recovery effort, Team Rubicon has deployed dozens of Greyshirt volunteers to support hazard tree removal across the community. Team Rubicon, a veteran-led humanitarian organization and ORVOAD partner, brings specialized disaster response skills and a strong volunteer base to complement local and state-led efforts.
In early April 2026, Greyshirts from across the Pacific Northwest arrived in The Dalles and Rowena to focus on removing hazard trees that threaten homes, access routes, and active work sites. Working on dozens of properties, these volunteers are felling dead and fire-stressed trees so that homeowners, contractors, and case managers can safely access properties and continue the long-term rebuilding process.
As Incident Commander Dan Bacon notes, this is a community-led recovery, and Team Rubicon is there in support of local leadership. ORVOAD’s role is to help make sure those efforts are connected—to other voluntary organizations, to state and county recovery programs, and to the broader network of services survivors need over time.
What This Means for Survivors and the Rowena Community
For survivors of the Rowena Fire, hazard tree removal marks an important turning point. Without this work, many families cannot safely bring in builders, participate in debris removal programs, or get the inspections required to rebuild.
With support from Team Rubicon and other ORVOAD partners, more properties are being made safe for entry, which in turn allows local recovery coordinators to connect households with case management, financial assistance, and rebuilding resources. Survivors have described this phase as “the first real step toward going home again,” reflecting how essential it is to pair physical recovery work with compassionate, coordinated support.
ORVOAD’s Role: Bringing Partners Together for Long-Term Recovery
Oregon Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (ORVOAD) exists to bring faith-based, community-based, and non-governmental organizations together before, during, and after disasters. For more than 35 years, ORVOAD has helped coordinate the resources and skills of its member organizations so that communities across Oregon can recover more effectively.
In Rowena, ORVOAD partners are working alongside Wasco County, the Village of Rowena, Mid-Columbia Community Action Council, and state and federal agencies to ensure that voluntary efforts fit into a broader, long-term recovery strategy. This includes:
- Supporting hazard tree and debris removal programs led by state and county partners
- Aligning volunteer capacity, donations, and case management services so households are not left navigating recovery alone
- Encouraging cooperation and communication among local nonprofits, faith communities, and response organizations working in the Gorge
By lifting up local leadership and coordinating voluntary organizations, ORVOAD helps ensure that every phase of recovery—from immediate relief to rebuilding—is more organized, equitable, and survivor-centered.
How Oregonians Can Support Rowena Fire Recovery
Rowena’s recovery is a long-term effort, and Oregonians across the state can play a meaningful role. Those who wish to help can:
- Support ORVOAD member organizations that are active in Rowena Fire recovery through donations or volunteer service
- Volunteer with organizations like Team Rubicon or other ORVOAD partners that provide trained disaster response and rebuilding support
- Share accurate information about Rowena recovery resources, including hazard tree and debris programs, with impacted neighbors in the Gorge
As hazard trees come down and more properties become safe, Rowena families can begin to rebuild homes, restore neighborhoods, and reclaim their sense of place in the Columbia River Gorge. ORVOAD and its partners will remain committed to walking alongside the community throughout this journey, helping to translate volunteer energy and compassion into lasting recovery.
Read more on our blog: Oregon VOAD Announces Major Donations Supporting Rowena Wildfire Recovery
Support ORVOAD
Support disaster recovery across Oregon. Your gift to ORVOAD helps build a more connected, resilient network of voluntary organizations ready to serve survivors—whether in Rowena, on the coast, in the Gorge, or anywhere else Oregonians are affected by disaster. Consider making a donation or becoming a supporting partner today to help ensure that when the next disaster strikes, communities have the coordinated support they need to recover.
Partner With Us
In times of crisis, Oregon Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (ORVOAD) collaborates with partner agencies to promptly assess community needs and organize resources to address those needs. ORVOAD leads a network of voluntary organizations that work together to ensure effective assistance to individuals impacted by immediate, intermediate, and long-term disasters.
Join forces with us and contribute to improving our communities’ preparation for disasters, both before and after they strike.