Unlocking First Steps Toward Rebuilding in Fire-Ravaged Rowena with Help from Veteran-led Disaster Response Volunteers
From Team Rubicon:
By Thomas Brown
The Dalles, Ore., April 8, 2026 — The Rowena Fire of 2025 destroyed over 100 buildings, including more than 50 homes, in and around The Dalles and Rowena. Impacted residents have been spearheading the long-term recovery, and the veteran-led volunteer disaster response organization Team Rubicon has joined the effort.
Dozens of Team Rubicon volunteers—known as Greyshirts—are in The Dalles at the request of the Village of Rowena, a non-profit formed by homeowners affected by the fire. The recovery has been stymied by the dead and dying trees left behind by the fire, preventing residents from safely rebuilding their homes; Team Rubicon volunteer Greyshirts are addressing that critical need.
“For many of us, this is the first real step toward going home again,” says Shane Wolfe, president of the Village of Rowena, “The fire took everything—but what’s been hardest is not being able to rebuild. These trees have been the barrier. Seeing Team Rubicon out here removing them…it’s the first time in a long time that people feel like moving forward is actually possible.”
Team Rubicon’s Greyshirt volunteers will remove hazardous trees impacting the recovery and rebuilding efforts, threatening access routes and structures, and interfering with operational work zones. “The goal is to restore safe conditions and support the community in their recovery,” says Team Rubicon Incident Commander Dan Bacon. “This recovery is powered by the residents themselves, and Team Rubicon is here to support that.”
Greyshirt volunteers from around the Pacific Northwest, including some with family ties to Rowena, will be working on dozens of properties around Rowena throughout the week. This operation is tackling the remaining fire damage, so the community’s recovery can begin in earnest, and homeowners can start rebuilding their neighborhoods.
“Seeing Team Rubicon step in has been so significant,” says Rowena homeowner Sylvia Crompton. “For many, this is the first real step toward being able to return home."
“The last item for me to address was the removal of badly burned trees and those at risk of falling,” says Rowena homeowner Bart Vervloet. “I am eternally grateful to the fine people at Village of Rowena, the hardworking TEAM RUBICON volunteers and all of their friends and families who understand why they do what they do so well!”
Team Rubicon is a nationally-supported local organization that can serve communities across the nation because Greyshirt volunteers live in every state, plus Puerto Rico, Guam, and Canada—including over 3,000 here in Oregon. This operation is possible because of our local Oregon volunteer leaders and the critical support from the Village of Rowena, Inc, Mid-Columbia Community Action Council, Oregon VOAD, Wasco County Long-Term Recovery Group, Oregon Dept. Of Forestry, Oregon Dept. Of Human Services, Oregon Office of Resilience and Emergency Management, Oregon Dept. Of Emergency Management, Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue, the city of The Dalles, and the Wasco County community at large.
Photo, Interview, B-Roll opportunities:
Active felling of live standing trees, fire-stressed, and/or dead hazard trees
Volunteers of a diverse background from around the Pacific Northwest, including some with family history in Rowena
Representatives from the Village of Rowena, Inc., Mid-Columbia Community Action Council
Impacted Rowena homeowners
This year to date, Team Rubicon has already launched 29 operations across the country and recently deployed to:
Hawai’i County, Hawai’i (Volcanic Ash Response)
Barnstable County, Massachusetts (Wildfire Mitigation)
Mitchell County, North Carolina (Hurricane Recovery)
Kankakee County, Illinois (Tornado Response)
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About Team Rubicon
Team Rubicon is a veteran-led humanitarian organization that serves global communities before, during, and after disasters and crises. Founded following the Haiti earthquake in 2010, the organization has grown to more than 200,000 volunteers across the United States and has launched over 1,300 operations domestically and internationally. To drive equity across disaster and humanitarian services, Team Rubicon focuses on three areas of impact: disaster response—from mitigation to immediate response to recovery; long-term recovery & workforce development—maintaining the fabric of communities through resilient building methods; and medical services—including providing emergent and surge health care, WASH, and disaster risk reduction. The organization is featured in the Emmy-nominated Roku original series titled Team Rubicon, which highlights the work of Greyshirt volunteers assisting communities across the country.
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