PHOENIX, Ore. — “Are you safe? Is your home safe? Do you need any water,” asked Willow McCloud, a homeowner.
McCloud is one of seven neighbors still in the city of Phoenix, Oregon.
With no drinkable water and electricity, the group is handing out free food, water, and other emergency supplies.
“If they need us to go check on their homes or their pets, or their fish, anything, we’ll go to their house and look,” said McCloud.
McCloud says they’re feeding cats, checking up on the elderly, and even turning on sprinklers.
Hoping signs saying ‘we’re still here,’ deter looters from preying on their small neighborhood.
“Hey, we see you, we’re here. We’d rather you not be here right now. It’s best just to stay away and let us heal and rebuild,” she said.
“So many people have lost everything. I’ve lost count of my friends that have lost it all,” said Carolyn Lynch, a homeowner.
Some homeowners are returning to the ghost town on Friday just to grab medications and perishable food.
“It’s devastating and just [to] know how many people are not as lucky as we are,” said Lynch.
But this small handful of neighbors, hope their presence on the empty streets of West 1st and South Church sends a message.
“We just have to show resilience. We just want people to know there’s someone on the inside that’s watching out,” said McCloud.
That despite everything, there’s no place they’d rather be.
“This is home. Absolutely 100 percent,” she said.
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