Vanessa Komperda has been counting the days since her family fled the Silvies River flood late last month.
“I’ve been writing in my journal since Day 1,” she said from the Red Cross emergency shelter at the Harney County Fairgrounds near Burns. “Day 1, Day 2, Day 3. Unfortunately, it’s been about Day 14 thus far. I’m very grateful, but it’s been a very long, confusing and tedious and draining journey.”
Day 14 was also the day Komperda met Tina Kotek.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek shakes the hand of a Red Cross official in front of the emergency shelter at the Harney County Fairgrounds, in Burns, Ore., on April 10, 2025.
Antonio Sierra / OPB
Oregon’s governor traveled from Salem to Harney County to see the flood damage for herself on Thursday.
Local and state authorities are still collecting data on the scope of the damage, but at its height on April 7, officials asked more than 1,400 people to evacuate their homes in Burns and the Burns Paiute Reservation, according to the Red Cross. That’s in a county of about 7,400 people.
Much of the water had receded by the time Kotek touched down in Burns, but she still saw signs of the aftermath.
She visited North Broadway Avenue, the neighborhood behind a levee that the flood breached. As she stood atop the levee, the governor could see the growing piles of debris in front of residents’ homes as they began the recovery process. Other forms of damage were less visible.
The flood overwhelmed Burns’ sewer system, meaning many city residents were left without the ability to go to the bathroom or bathe in their homes.
A structure is surrounded by floodwater in Burns.
Antonio Sierra / OPB
Kotek praised the resiliency of the community and the volunteers who came to its aid.
“Volunteers have come together because here’s what we know about Harney County: They take care of their own,” she said. “They’re trying to come together to make sure people have what they need.”
Kotek also spelled out how the state might help with flood relief. In the short term, the governor said the state would cover the landfill fees associated with debris cleanup. There’s also still time left in the 2025 session to advocate for more flood relief money for Harney County, she said. Priorities could include funding for sewer repairs and more flood mitigation.
Preventing future floods in the Burns area could involve more than just repairing the levee that failed in early April.
Kotek was accompanied by Mark Owens, a Republican state representative from nearby Crane. He said burn scars from last year’s devastating Falls Fire meant melting snow and rain traveled down the surrounding mountains much faster than usual, inundating the Silvies River.
Kotek and state Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, talk as they stand on the Burns levee.
Antonio Sierra / OPB
Less certain is the state’s ability to get federal flood relief. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has seen steep cuts under the Trump administration, even as a federal judge recently ruled that the president had illegally withheld disaster relief money from states controlled by Democrats.
Oregon would be undeterred in seeking help from the federal government, according to Kotek.
“We have Oregonians who contribute with their tax dollars,” she said. “We’re going to make that very clear to the federal government, and we will do everything we can and assume the status quo until someone tells us different.”
Related: Harney County flooding cleanup and repair efforts continue, more Silvies River flooding possible
Both Kotek and Owens said they had been communicating with U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, Oregon’s sole Republican in Congress and the area’s longtime representative.
“I do know that when there is a disaster in Oregon, the congressional delegation comes together,” Kotek said. “It doesn’t matter what your party is, we all stick together and say, ‘We need this help for the state.‘”
When the governor visited the Red Cross shelter, Komperda showed her photos of her family’s flooded home. Within hours of receiving the evacuation notice, flood waters entered the home. With the help of local authorities, Komperda, her parents, her sisters and her cat all made it out safely.
Vanessa Komperda shares her family's flood story with Kotek at the emergency shelter at the Harney County Fairgrounds.
Antonio Sierra / OPB
The family later returned once the waters receded to assess the damage. The house was “smelly,” Komperda said, the doors were warped and sewage smeared itself all over the house. She described the home her family had moved into less than a year ago as “uninhabitable.”
Komperda said her family is starting to think over their next steps, but their options for a new home are limited. Local officials say housing in Burns was already in short supply before the flood and will be even tighter afterward.
Despite it all, Komperda said her family wants to stay in Harney County, and she hopes the community and the government will help them do that.
