When every minute counts: Building resilience before the next disaster

Emilio will never forget evacuating with his family during the Almeda fire in 2020. A sheriff knocked on the front door and told them they had five minutes to leave. It was not enough time to even gather your thoughts, let alone your belongings.

But some people had no time at all. The sheriffs knocked and yelled, “Time to go. NOW.” Some people saw the flames approaching and simply fled.

The roaring Almeda fire had record-breaking winds, some of the strongest winds we’ve seen yet. Just a few weeks ago, we experienced record-breaking flooding. As extreme weather becomes more common, we all have even more haunting memories of these life-changing moments.

As community organizers who have personally experienced the devastation of the Almeda fire, we are working hard now to prepare our community for the next climate disaster. Every minute counts. During the Almeda Fire, Spanish-speaking families showed up at the Expo in Jackson County along with all the other evacuees.

But there was no one on hand who spoke Spanish, so we sent a bilingual staff person to help. Stronger communication systems can give people more time to prepare and recover, save lives, and smooth the path to recovery. This is what community resilience looks like in 2025.

Our work is far-ranging and hands-on. We table at community events, knock on doors and hold workshops in Spanish and English. Our team has passed out emergency packets with bandages, blankets, water packs, and ice packs. When possible, we give out air filters and purifiers. We connect people and nurture the relationships that will help protect us in the next emergency.

In 2023, Unite Oregon helped advocate for the statewide Community Resilience Hubs and Networks grant program to make sure our communities have the supplies and services needed to withstand disaster. This vital grant program invested $10 million in community-led efforts to prepare us for the next disaster.

Part of the first round of funds came to the Rogue Valley chapter of Unite Oregon to strengthen communication between community groups and public agencies before, during, and after an emergency. With this state funding, we can help make sure everyone in our community can access help during the next disaster, no matter what language they speak.

But that first grant cycle was only able to fund less than 15% of applications. Extreme weather is real, it’s happening now, and we want everyone to be ready. As climate resilience becomes more important, we are glad to be one of 50 groups supporting the Building Resilience agenda, along with climate justice and public health organizations, business and labor, faith and frontline communities, environmental, family and youth organizations and thousands of individual Oregonians.

The community resilience hubs coalition in tandem with the Building Resilience coalition is requesting $10 million to fund a second round of the Resilience Hubs and Networks Grant program. This investment in communities will provide the resources and connections needed to make it easier for Oregonians like us to withstand disaster.

Community resilience hubs and networks can help immediately, but fortifying our neighborhoods and communities against disaster takes time. Bills before the Legislature could do just that by improving a one-stop resource for finding and combining incentives for efficiency upgrades, banning utility companies from charging junk rates and funding statewide heat pump incentive programs. These bills and investments aim to help Oregonians upgrade homes and buildings to achieve better health, lower costs, less pollution, and higher resilience.

Together, these efforts work hand in hand to create a more resilient Oregon and more resilient communities. Our efforts are even more important as the federal government backtracks on promised funds to Oregon communities, leaving $85 million worth of community preparedness projects in limbo.

Minute by minute, we are creating a safer, more prepared Rogue Valley, so that when the next disaster strikes, we all have more support and more time to get to safety.