On July 21, 2025, two sisters sit on lawn chairs next to their RV in front of a Red Cross shelter in The Dalles, Oregon. They are calm and trying to take things in stride as they wait to learn the fate of their home due to a huge fire tearing through the Columbia River Gorge.
They’ve been at the shelter for days checking their phones for updates on the Burdoin Fire, which has grown to almost 11,000 acres since it started on July 18th. In that time, the fire has destroyed 14 homes, damaged close to 40 homes, and forced hundreds of people to evacuate.
“This is our first experience in evacuating,” says Shelley Swansen.
Six years ago, Swansen, her sister Kathie Nicholas, and their families built a house on the bluff near Lyle, Washington which is now in a level 3 “Go Now” evacuation zone. It sits right across the Columbia River from the shelter, but it might as well be a million miles away.
Nicholas says she first realized the intensity of the fire when she learned that her granddaughter had been evacuated. The granddaughter came to their house with her car full of her belongings and planned to stay with them until she could return home.
“We never thought the fire would catch up with us here, but it did. I had to wake her up late at night to tell her we may have to go again,” says Nicholas. She was right. They would have to leave a few hours later.
Swansen says it didn’t seem real at first. They calmly loaded up their car with important papers, family items, electronics. All the while thinking they’ll just unpack them in a few hours and go back inside their homes. No big deal.
Next thing they knew, they were in a yellow evacuation zone, which means “Be Set” to evacuate. Their home is up in the canyon with only one way out, so they started making plans. They got the RV and trailer out and prepared to leave.
“We were all in disbelief. This is not really happening. It’s going to be fine. Then it started to get more serious. Then you really start thinking we could really lose our home,” says Swansen.
They ended up coming to The Dalles and parking their trailer outside the shelter at The Dalles Middle School. The Red Cross provides services to people who come to their shelters, even if they stay in their RV’s or trailers at night. They can still come in for food, water, snacks, to use the bathroom and showers.
“My husband went into the shelter to take a shower and was given a packet with shampoo and deodorant and other things that you may not have remembered if you left the house,” says Swansen, “It’s been more than I expected, everybody here has been phenomenal.”
Swansen’s husband interrupts the conversation to share that evacuations had reduced to Level 2 (Be Set) but it was still not safe to return. So, they wait.
It’s disappointing, but they are all glad they have a safe place to stay until they get the green light to return home.
“You never think that you’ll be there, and you don’t know what it’s like until you are here,” Swansen says, “We are taking it okay but now we’re all kind of numb.”
If you need to find a Red Cross shelter, or if you want to support our mission, please go to RedCross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or download our FREE Red Cross emergency app.
Support all the urgent humanitarian needs of the American Red Cross.
Find a drive and schedule a blood donation appointment today.
Your time and talent can make a real difference in people’s lives. Discover the role that's right for you and join us today!