Scott & Marybeth Johnson
Donation protected
In the early morning hours of Tuesday September 8th, Scott Johnson and his wife Marybeth lost power and eventually went to bed not knowing what was transpiring. At around 5am Marybeth woke only to see orange light through the curtains.
She quickly awakened Scott, “We have to go - now!” Outside of their home near Gates, Oregon was a wall of flames. The driveway was blocked leaving no choice but to go to the river. Scott ran through the flames to get the cat carrier. With the cat in tow, Scott tumbled through blackberry bushes down a steep 30-foot embankment to the frigid river. The embankment was completely engulfed in flames. At one point Marybeth’s clothing was on fire. They made their way downstream to a log in the river while passing the cat in its carrier back and forth. High winds were fanning flames on both sides of the river and blowing embers in all directions. They waited on the log for seven hours. During that time, they had to continually extinguish flames on the log. Eventually the fire had consumed their home and property and they determined it was time to head for the highway. Scott managed to climb up a 50-foot cliff in search of a rope which he miraculously found. At that time, all of the homes had evacuated and burned. What they encountered was surreal. It was an unrecognizable landscape. Leaving the river they walked by the smoldering remains of their home and cars. They walked a quarter mile before help arrived. They were transported to Salem, wet and cold. Their friends picked them up and generously offered them temporary housing. They lost everything but the clothes on their backs and their cat Tuku. They have a few first degree burns and Tuku has singed whiskers.
Scott is an accomplished musician and fine woodworker. He lost all of his instruments, his entire music studio and irreplaceable contents. In addition he lost an entire shop of woodworking tools and materials. Both crafts are his means of earning a living. It's an enormous loss estimated at tens of thousands of dollars.
They also lost both of their vehicles so they are without transportation.
Please consider donating any amount you can to help Scott and Marybeth get back on their feet again.
She quickly awakened Scott, “We have to go - now!” Outside of their home near Gates, Oregon was a wall of flames. The driveway was blocked leaving no choice but to go to the river. Scott ran through the flames to get the cat carrier. With the cat in tow, Scott tumbled through blackberry bushes down a steep 30-foot embankment to the frigid river. The embankment was completely engulfed in flames. At one point Marybeth’s clothing was on fire. They made their way downstream to a log in the river while passing the cat in its carrier back and forth. High winds were fanning flames on both sides of the river and blowing embers in all directions. They waited on the log for seven hours. During that time, they had to continually extinguish flames on the log. Eventually the fire had consumed their home and property and they determined it was time to head for the highway. Scott managed to climb up a 50-foot cliff in search of a rope which he miraculously found. At that time, all of the homes had evacuated and burned. What they encountered was surreal. It was an unrecognizable landscape. Leaving the river they walked by the smoldering remains of their home and cars. They walked a quarter mile before help arrived. They were transported to Salem, wet and cold. Their friends picked them up and generously offered them temporary housing. They lost everything but the clothes on their backs and their cat Tuku. They have a few first degree burns and Tuku has singed whiskers.
Scott is an accomplished musician and fine woodworker. He lost all of his instruments, his entire music studio and irreplaceable contents. In addition he lost an entire shop of woodworking tools and materials. Both crafts are his means of earning a living. It's an enormous loss estimated at tens of thousands of dollars.
They also lost both of their vehicles so they are without transportation.
Please consider donating any amount you can to help Scott and Marybeth get back on their feet again.
Organizer and beneficiary
Eileen Hickey
Organizer
Portland, OR
Scott Johnson
Beneficiary