Klamath Falls, Ore. – “Help us to rebuild.” That’s the request made to the Klamath County Commissioners from those hit by last week’s fire in Sprague River.
Ken Petersen was one of 17 homeowners who lost everything in the ‘Moccasin Hills’ fire that blackened about 4 square miles in Sprague river last week…
“My house, it melted to the ground, basically.”
Peterson joined 11 others Wednesday in asking Klamath County Commissioners for help.
“Waiving dump fees, rebuilding fees.” Noted Ron Willis of Sprague river. “Those kind of issues.”
“If those building permits would be waived, that would greatly help the people that lost everything.” Added Sprague River resident Danny Dunn.
The county plans to place a container in the neighborhood for demolition disposal.
Damaged properties will also need to be re-assessed for tax purposes.
Roads in the area aren’t maintained by the county, and were a common complaint from the group.
“The road infrastructure was not very good to start with.” Says Klamath County Commissioner Tom Mallams. “I think the realization is that you need to fund a road district, or something like that.”
Danny Dunn believes the road district idea is now getting a serious look…
“That sparked a lot of interest to the people out there, because the roads out there are horrible.”‘
Ken Petersen says insurance will help with rebuilding, but that money will only go so far…’
“It’s going to be, ‘build a house within the number of dollars I’ve got’ – and hopefully, we can get some assistance at the local level here at the county, a reduction of fees, possibly.”
The fire cost over 3 million dollars to put out…but for many, the emotional cost will be even higher.
Waiving building permit fees won’t be as easy as it sounds.
Those fees are split between the state, the county, and county schools – and those parties would all need to agree to a waiver.
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