(Akawa Butte fire, Crooked River Ranch | Photo by Amanda Cardenas, Think Wild Board Director)
Increases in operating expenses (from labor and product costs to higher taxes) are among the challenges identified by small business owners in Sisters. An additional and unforeseen factor was the two consecutive years of devastating wildfires — the Flat Fire that burned 23,000+ acres in 2025, and the Akawa Butte Fire this July that scorched some 27,500 acres. “Wildfires have become a fact of life,” said David Moore, president of the Sisters Business Association (SBA) and a small business owner himself. “They are a disaster you can’t really budget for.”
As Moore described, the Akawa Fire “disrupted the heart of our summer season, and tourism-influenced industries reported a 25% loss compared with the same time last year, which was itself also affected by wildfire. Added to this equation was the lack of snow last winter, which had discouraged visitors from coming to the area and playing in the snow. It was pretty tough.”
Yet rather than “go it alone,” entrepreneurs came together during this summer’s blazes while making hard choices about staffing and operations. As Moore described, “The fire strengthened collaboration among business owners. We shared information, and supported one another. The situation became bigger than just individual survival — we were bound together.”
As part of this collaborative effort, SBA members “put our thoughts into a survey that pinpointed what the small business community needs in the next 3-5 years,” Moore said. (Initial results were submitted to the Sisters Country Vision Implementation Team.)
As he summarized: “The strategic question is not simply how to attract more visitors. How does Sisters build a business environment resilient enough to withstand winter seasonality, wildfire disruption, labor shortages, rising costs, and changing visitor patterns while preserving the businesses that are already succeeding and increase business confidence going forward?”
Credit for these efforts — both during the summer and in planning for the future — goes in no small measure to the SBA, which — when starting up in mid-2024 — attracted 16-20 people, a number that doubled in 2025, and now includes 63 members. “We’re gaining traction as an association,” Moore said. “When the City of Sisters joined, I knew that we had something going. We now have a seat at the table.”
He continued by saying that “The SBA’s goal is to support engagement and collaboration among members, share information, and enhance confidence in our town. The focus should be on all of us working together so everyone gets fed.”
