HILLSBORO, Ore. — Fire roared through a section of downtown Hillsboro early on the morning of Jan. 2, devastating several businesses.
The Hillsboro Pharmacy and Fountain was mostly saved from the flames. But it suffered extensive water damage.
“We're not going to open on Monday in this location,” Kathy Schmidlkofer said with a chuckle.
Schmidlkofer is the manager at the business. She's worked here for 37 years.
On Saturday, the focus was to get things cleaned up and the pharmacy open for business in a new temporary location at 155 S.E. Second Ave., about a block away from their fire-damaged space on East Main Street
They're getting the job done with the help of people in the Hillsboro community.
“It's been amazing what we've gotten done with just volunteers and people saying, what can I do to help,” Schmidlkofer said. “There’s been a couple who have been in here for, like, eight-hour days. It's been awesome. We're pretty blessed.”
Jasmine Nguyen is right in the middle of it all. She bought the Hillsboro Pharmacy and Fountain several months ago. To have this happen was devastating.
But she said the response from the community has been amazing.
“I'm really surprised because I'm new here,” Nguyen said. “Everybody supports us. I love the community. After we get back on our feet we're going to try better to serve and pay back.”
For the short term, they will be just a few steps away from their old home. On Saturday, they had a sign inside the new space and buckets of paint and other supplies waiting for volunteers to get to work. This is a just a temporary home, they said.
“We'll be back here,” said Schmidlkofer, cleaning up on Main Street. “It going to be better, it’s going to be new. But it will still have old employees like us. You can't get rid of us.”