“Covid hit the valley hard,” said Erica Alexia, the 28-year-old daughter of Mexican immigrants in Phoenix, who has several uncles and an aunt whose homes burned down but whose family has
In a larger sense, though, the fire has revealed the closeness of the tightly knit community, to a degree that many of them say they have never seen. Immigrants and native-born residents alike whose homes were spared by the flames have opened their couches and floors to displaced families. Donations of clothing, food and other essentials have poured into relief centers. A largely white group of restaurateurs have begun an ambitious effort to feed fire victims daily meals for months to come.
“You just really see your community light up for you,” said Estefania Ortiz, 17, a high school senior who is Ms. Alexia’s cousin. “I keep telling my teachers — it’s a small community with a big heart.”
Migrant workers have traveled to the Rogue Valley for decades, to power the agriculture and forestry industries here, starting with the Bracero program of the 1940s, which provided Mexican workers for American farms. Some workers began settling in the region permanently in the 1970s, and others have followed. Today, about 14 percent of Jackson County — which includes Ashland, Phoenix and Talent — is Hispanic, according to census figures. Nearly one in 10 residents of Phoenix was born outside the United States.
