When I moved to Salem in 1977, the only Detroit I was familiar with was the one in Michigan. Since, I’ve driven through the Santiam Canyon many times to and from central Oregon. I’ve gotten to know the charming stop along the way, Detroit, nestled on the shores of nine-mile long Detroit Lake.
Then wildfires devastated the town in September 2020. A CNN story said it looks “like a bomb went off.”
Wildfires scorching the West Coast have devastated the small city of Detroit, Oregon – located about 120 miles southeast of Portland – where a majority of the structures in the rural enclave have been flattened by fire.
“We have approximately 20-25 structures still standing, and the rest are gone,” officials with the Idanha-Detroit Rural Fire Protection District said on their Facebook page.
…Detroit Mayor Jim Trett compared his city’s devastation with that of Paradise, California, which was destroyed in the Camp Fire two years ago.
“It’s the same topography: three canyons coming down like a funnel into the city of Paradise at the bottom of the funnel,” Trett told KATU. “When I heard that two years ago I said, that’s Detroit.”
For the past five years Detroit has struggled to rebuild. A lot of progress had been made, with more yet to come. Then a 110 mph windstorm hit Detroit on December 16-17 of this year.
A Statesman Journal story by Zach Urness, “Detroit walloped by windstorm, many homes damaged or destroyed,” included news that Mayor Trett’s recently rebuilt house after the wildfires torched it was a total loss following the windstorm. He only got to enjoy his new house for three weeks. Excerpt:
Detroit mayor Jim Trett is wondering what almighty power the town of Detroit angered and how to get back in their good graces.
The beloved town on the reservoir east of Salem was once again hammered by natural disaster this week.
…Detroit has faced the 2020 Labor Day Fires, low water in the reservoir and prospect of a “deep drawdown” that could damage fishing, tourism and the economy.
“What we need to do is figure out who or what we ticked off and how we can make it like us again,” Trett said. “It’s been a lot.”
I can completely understand that sentiment, even though I don’t believe in a higher power (or lower power) that could have brought Detroit so much grief since 2020. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, and good towns, for no discernible reason.
My hope is that Mayor Trett and the other residents of Detroit have much more pleasant days ahead of them. They deserve it.
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