Oregon logger Scott Melcher, president of the Oregon Logging Conference (OLC), recently announced establishment of the OLC Repair & Recovery Fire Relief fund. The fund will be guided by a committee chaired by OLC board member Heidi Leib, who wanted to create a way to provide financial support to timber-related contractors affected by the fires as they struggle to recover and get back to work.

Noting multiple relief efforts for the thousands of houses destroyed and the material loss from the fires, Leib says she saw a need to create a program to target businesses that had lost equipment, tools and supplies to the fires. The OLC Repair & Recovery Fire Relief fund is seeking to assist with insurance deductibles and the costs of moving and repairing equipment and replacing equipment and supplies. “These are the same people we rely on for forest salvage and restoration efforts,” she adds.

Melcher says the group plans to reach out to forest products manufacturers, retailers, suppliers and individuals for donations to help build the fund.

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