Hornbrook community comes together for annual Klamathon Block Party

HORNBROOK, CA. — Residents of Hornbrook, California came together today for the annual Klamathon Block Party.

The devastating Klamathon Fire in 2018 burned over 38,000 acres and destroyed 82 structures.

It left the town of Hornbrook reeling, but the community has since created a special event to commemorate coming back home.

“We had to evacuate out 3 years ago, I run a small business making candles and incense and we made special decals today and things like that,” said Kira Martinsen, a Hornbrook resident and vendor. She says today marks 3 years exactly since she was able to come home after being evacuated.

RELATED: Hornbrook plans homecoming for residents one year after Klamathon

“It’s great to see that a community can step back up, the re-growth of everything… it’s been fabulous,” she said.

The block party has been thrown the last 2 years by the Hornbrook Community Association.

“We started the year after, it’s our way to say to everybody we’ve made it home.”

The block party had live music, brick-breaking, and 12 different vendors for people to shop at.

“The first year it was smaller, this year it’s even bigger and it’s just fantastic,” said volunteer for the Hornbrook Community Association, Doreen Bellich.

Bellich says proceeds from the event are going towards the new community center. “It is going to be a community center for the community of Hornbrook, KRCE, all the people affected by the Klamathon Fire.”

The party also had food trucks and a small car show.

Seeing the event grow each year makes Bellich happy.

“It makes me proud, it does, it makes me so proud because people seem to forget Hornbrook is this little town out in the middle of [nowhere]… it’s like people know we’re here now,” she said.

The event started at 10 a.m. and was wrapped up by 4 p.m.

To learn more about the event, visit the Hornbrook Community Association Facebook page.

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