PHOENIX, Ore. --- It’s an every Friday tradition at the corner of Barnum Drive and Brandon Way.
“We drive in from our faraway place, 30 miles away, 25, I think it is. And we do our shopping and we come to the house and we take pictures to kind of document the progress,” Jillian Roberts, who lost her home in the Almeda fire says.
For Jillian Roberts it’s a 4-month journey that dates back to September, but the memories are still vivid in her mind.
“The night of the fire or one of our neighbors, John, he had stayed much longer than he should have trying to fight any little fires that came. And we knew when he left that night that we probably didn't have anything, but we weren't sure until the next morning,” Roberts said.
Now Jillian and her family are living in a trailer.
“My mom has a cab over and we have a small trailer that the three kids and my husband and I stay in and we're on some property with some friends,” Roberts adds.
They are savoring every moment until they can go back to a normal life.
“I know a lot of people weren't and aren't as lucky as we have been. While we go through the process of rebuilding, because I know some people aren't even going to be able to come back to their homes,” Roberts says.