How to Support Rural Oregon Businesses Affected by Wildfire

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How to Support Rural Oregon Businesses Affected by Wildfire<br>Send this to someone who feels helpless. Show them they're not.

Brad Attig<br>Aug 07, 2026

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Rural communities are built on the belief that people show up for each other . A business that survives a fire season because its neighbors kept ordering, kept buying gift cards, kept showing up is proof of the resilience that drives rural economic development.<br>If you’re a business owner directly affected by the fires, we put together a separate guide covering documentation, insurance, financial runway, and where to find disaster assistance. Read Fire Season Resources for Rural Oregon’s Business Community here.<br>This one is for everyone else; here’s how you can support them well.<br>Pick one reasonable item below you can complete this week:<br>Buy a Gift Card, Even If You Can’t Visit Right Now

Gift cards put cash into a business immediately. During the COVID-19 shutdowns, small business advocates pointed to this specifically: spending even $25 on a gift card gives a business support it can use right away.<br>Los Angeles County applied this same logic directly to wildfire recovery. Their Department of Economic Opportunity built a Shop Local program where consumers buy a $20, $50, or $100 gift card and get a bonus card worth half that amount back, redeemable only at qualifying fire-impacted businesses. The county’s Board of Supervisors chair described the intent: ‘shopping locally in fire-impacted areas helps businesses that lost their customer base recover’.

Keep Ordering, Even When It’s Inconvenient

In Blowing Rock, North Carolina, local businesses spent their own resources helping their community after Hurricane Helene, offering free meals and running supply collection efforts. What they needed in return was customers who kept showing up, even when travel wasn’t easy. Local business groups pointed to ordering online, calling ahead for gift cards, and not waiting for perfectly convenient conditions before spending locally again.<br>Visibility matters a lot. A business still open during fire season often loses customers simply because people assume it’s closed or inaccessible. A review, a share, a recommendation to a friend corrects that assumption, and anyone can do it regardless of location.<br>Don’t Assume They Already Know Help Exists

Business owners in the middle of a fire season are dealing with evacuation orders, smoke damage, and the day-to-day work of keeping their doors open. Most people assume that if resources exist, business owners already know about them and have the time to go find them.<br>A phone call matters a LOT. Check in on the business owners you know personally. Ask what they actually need to help them get through the next 48 hours.<br>Reinventing Rural is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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If you’re not sure how to start that conversation, specificity helps. “Let me know if you need anything” is easy to say and easy to ignore, mostly because it puts the work of figuring out what’s needed back on the person already stretched thin. Try something more direct instead:<br>“Can I bring you a meal Tuesday?”<br>“Want me to share your GoFundMe with my group chat?”<br>“I’m heading to the store anyway, need anything?”<br>“Have you filed insurance claims yet? I’ve got three hours this Sunday, tell me the next step, and I’ll take it off your plate.”<br>And if you’re someone who shares information in your community, whether that’s a newsletter, a group chat, a bulletin board, or just being the person everyone asks, don’t assume people have already seen the resource list once and moved on . Keep sharing it .

Direct Ways to Help Right Now

The BottleDrop Emergency Fund is matching up to $25,000 in donations through September 30, 2026, made via Green Bag accounts or beverage container returns. The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative is directing that money to nonprofits providing wildfire relief across the state, including the Cascades Region American Red Cross.<br>Travel Oregon lists the Northwest Response Fund as a current option, accepting donations online or by texting the word “relief” to 503-226-5088. The same guide points to the Red Cross’s three Oregon chapters, which as of late July 2026 had opened 16 shelters, provided more than 500 overnight stays, and served over 1,500 meals to people affected by this year’s fires. Donations to the Oregon Food Bank Network go toward emergency supplies for local families, farmers, and first responders.<br>GoFundMe maintains a page of Trust & Safety-verified fundraisers specifically for Oregon wildfire victims, including one supporting The Dalles Salvation Army’s relief work.<br>Oregon’s Office of Emergency Management directs people to dial or text 211, or visit 211info.org, for a current list of trusted organizations collecting monetary...