Firefighters 'fill the boot' for landslide victims

On Sunday, April 6, members of the volunteer firefighter associations of Black Butte Ranch, Cloverdale, and Sisters-Camp Sherman fire districts met in Sisters to raise funds for those affected by the Oso, Washington, mudslide.

In a little over four hours of fundraising, these volunteers raised $3,774.93 to send to Oso to aid survivors and rescuers. Cloverdale Volunteer Fire Fighters Association President Damon Frutos said that the fire department that protects the Oso area is a volunteer fire department. Each of our fire departments depend heavily upon volunteer firefighters.

"We wanted to try to help our fellow volunteer firefighters who have been digging through the mud over the last two weeks trying to locate survivors," he said. "Since we also protect a small town and rural area we know how devastating a disaster of this magnitude can be.

"We contacted the county emergency manager in Snohomish County who suggested that we send our donation to the Coastal Community Bank in Darrington, WA. This will go into a fund that is supervised by the American Red Cross and helps all of the survivors of this disaster."

Firefighters set up adjacent to the Sno-Cap on Pine Street and Cascade Avenue, the parking lot of Ray's Food Place, and in the lot of the Mainline Chevron.

The firefighters would like to thank everyone in our community who donated to this cause, including Sisters Rental who donated sawhorses for signage, Ray's Food Place, Mainline Chevron, and Sno-Cap Drive In who allowed them to set up on or adjacent to their properties, and Cork Cellars, whose owner, Jennifer Seher, donated 10 percent of her sales on Sunday to the cause.