Veteran who lost home to wildfire finds love with fellow evacuee at Redmond motel

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- It's been more than four months since wildfires ravaged wide areas of Oregon, but some evacuees who lost everything are still calling Redmond's Super 8 motel home.

Across the street, at the Redmond Coffee Company, Aubrey Love said she's come to know the evacuees as they frequent her coffee shop, all with different stories.

"Some of them have gone back already with their family and friends, they're starting to build houses," Love said Thursday, "Other people are still waiting on funds to come in, so that's a lot of people still at Super 8."

Speaking to evacuees Thursday, one who was out walking his dog said he was worn out by living in the motel.

Detroit resident David Kilby said there are also other issues, as the public's focus on the fires has been largely overrun by other big events.

"The election -- I get it, you know. But we've been forgotten, I think, by most people," Kilby said.

In fact he said, some of the simple gestures of caring he recalls fondly are now a thing of the past.

"We would go to Full Throttle to get coffee, and people would like walk up and ask us if we are okay, hand us 20 bucks buy us coffee, things like that," he said. "It's gone."

Kilby said before the fire, he was living alone, and thinking about moving out of state to be near family, the fire making the situation worse.

"You know, the first two weeks were really hard," he said. "I was in the room by myself. I didn't have a vehicle."

However, at the motel, things started to look up for the Marine, as he met a woman, and the two have been hitting it off.

"Honestly, being with her has made it a whole lot better," he said.

In fact, things are going so well, Kilby said they are looking at new beginnings, when they leave the hotel.

"We're going to get a house," he said. "We're trying to stay here in Redmond, because we've honestly met a lot of great people here."