Fireweed Hub fills need for community gathering space during wildfires
link to the complete August 8, 2024 edition of the Valley Voice Online
The Fireweed Hub in downtown New Denver has quickly become the go-to community space during the wildfire emergency. “ It’s easy for the Fireweed to look like the hero in all this, but the charity and volunteerism in the community is really what has made it work,” said Miranda Hughes, Fireweed Hub Society director. “We are happy to have a facility that can be used in this way, but
the heroics of this come from the heart of this community.”
Initially, the Silverton General Store was providing morning food to fire crews
and serving as a community hub for information about the fires. When the evacuation order for Silverton was issued on July 24, SGS owners
Katrina Sumrall and Danika Hammond contacted the Fireweed and asked if the
community hub could be moved to New Denver.
“Our immediate response was, yes, let’s get the Fireweed open and we’ll figure out what we can do,” Hughes said. The Fireweed opened right away, on Wednesday evening. Hughes says it was easy to set up to serve as a community gathering space, but it took until Saturday to coordinate with BCWS officials and start providing breakfasts, bagged lunches and dinners for the fire crews. On Sunday, the Fireweed was given a contract and funding from BCWS to provide meals for the 55 crew members.
With the contract in place, the Fireweed was able to pay some local chefs, including their managers, Karin Dodds and Hannah WeisbrichCollier, to prepare food for the 55 crew members in the morning and evening, with the help of a team of volunteers.
On Wednesday, July 30, most of the firefighters moved to a camp in Winlaw, leaving just nine crew members to feed in New Denver. The Valhalla Inn has taken on the contract with BCWS to provide meals to the remaining firefighters, with the support of the same volunteers.
The mid-day ‘café’ at the Fireweed for community members is being run strictly
by volunteers, funded by donations. Hughes says a couple of local nonprofit
organizations have pledged donations to allow the Fireweed to be open to
community members from 10 am to 2 pm, and this will continue until the Red
Mountain Road evacuation order is lifted.
Hughes says the Fireweed is trying to support local businesses by buying food
from New Market Foods, Canco and local farmers. “These businesses are taking
a huge hit to their livelihood, with the Friday Market cancelled last week and on
reduced hours this week. New Market and Canco had way too much food because they ordered for high tourist season, but there are no tourists. We’re trying to pay fair prices for food.”
Donations of cash and food (i.e. fruit, bagels, muffins) are being accepted at the Fireweed Hub for the mid-day community café.
The Fireweed Hub is a new community co-work and commercial kitchen space
in downtown New Denver, owned and operated by the Fireweed Hub nonprofit
society.