Salem, OR – In the remote corners of eastern Oregon, the opioid crisis has taken root in ways that few could have predicted. Malheur County, known for its expansive sagebrush landscapes and scattered communities, has become a focal point in Oregon’s ongoing battle against drug addiction, driven largely by fentanyl.
One of the most notorious sites in the area is an encampment referred to as “Fentanyl Flats,” a sprawling collection of rundown trailers marked with graffiti, sitting along a windswept gravel road just outside Ontario. The area has become infamous for its high levels of drug use, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, which have made it a volatile and dangerous place. For those who venture into the encampment, even basic tasks can turn hazardous. Chrissy LaChapelle, executive director of Oasis House, a nonprofit serving impoverished people in Ontario, recalled one of her visits, when armed men, one of whom was smoking meth, confronted her and a client trying to collect belongings from a trailer.
“At that moment, I thought, ‘We’re going to die,'” LaChapelle said, reflecting on the tense encounter that left her shaken. Since then, she no longer visits the area alone.
The rise of fentanyl in rural Oregon has mirrored a broader trend seen across the United States, where rural areas—often distant from major cities—are becoming increasingly affected by the opioid epidemic. Despite being far from Portland or Eugene, Oregon’s urban epicenters, rural communities like those in Malheur County are grappling with escalating drug abuse and overdose deaths.
Before 2020, overdose deaths in eastern Oregon were relatively rare, but following the passage of Measure 110, which decriminalized low-level drug possession, the situation worsened. Data from the Oregon Health Authority showed a sharp uptick in overdose deaths in the region, with 2023 marking a particularly deadly year. Malheur County alone saw five fatalities related to opioid overdoses and 24 emergency room visits due to overdoses, putting the county among the highest in the state on a per capita basis.
In response, the state legislature passed House Bill 4002 in 2024, which recriminalized drug possession and introduced “deflection programs.” These programs aim to divert individuals arrested for low-level drug offenses away from the criminal justice system and toward treatment options instead, a model already being used in Washington State. Under this approach, people arrested for minor drug possession are offered the chance to enter a treatment program rather than face criminal charges. If they complete the program, their records are wiped clean.
However, the programs face significant hurdles in rural counties like Malheur, where resources are limited. Despite being Oregon’s second-largest county by area, Malheur has only 18 sheriff’s deputies, who must manage the full scope of law enforcement duties, from highway patrol to crime investigation. The challenge of serving a population spread over vast distances, such as the rural towns of Jordan Valley or Ontario, adds to the strain.
Andrea Recla, the deflection coordinator for Malheur County, explained that while the county’s deflection program has been in operation since the law’s implementation, only a handful of people have entered it. So far, just four individuals have successfully participated in the program. A major issue, according to Recla, is the lack of resources to support it fully. Lifeways, the county’s mental health provider, operates the program, but with just one trained “peer navigator” on staff—someone with lived experience of addiction—the program is unable to provide 24/7 support.
“We are not at a place where we’re able to do that right now,” Recla said, noting that even if they could dispatch a peer to an incident site, it could take hours for someone to arrive in more remote locations.
While the deflection programs offer a hopeful avenue for recovery, treatment is still out of reach for many in these areas. Even those who try to get clean often face monumental challenges. For example, LaChapelle’s nonprofit, Oasis House, offers vital services such as meals, clothing, and basic healthcare for the region’s unhoused population. Yet, many of the people who frequent the center are caught in the grip of addiction, which makes their lives even more difficult.
Some clients even bring drugs with them. LaChapelle recalled one occasion when a man pulled out a bag of methamphetamine, followed by fentanyl, after she told him to leave the meth behind. “It’s a daily struggle,” she said, describing the toll drugs have taken on the community.
While some have found a way out of addiction, including those who’ve found stable housing and employment with the help of Oasis House, the situation is grim for many others. Stories like that of Jewel Hance, a 35-year-old woman who has been clean for seven years despite living at Fentanyl Flats, show the stark reality of rural addiction. Hance, once a homeowner in Ontario, lost her property and now resides in her RV at the encampment, trying to stay sober amid the overwhelming drug culture around her.
Further north, in Baker County, the crisis is also taking hold. The area, once thriving on timber revenue, has faced economic downturns following the closure of local mills. With abandoned homes and a dearth of job opportunities, drugs like methamphetamine began infiltrating the county decades ago. Shane Alderson, a county commissioner, grew up in Baker City and remembers the first signs of the drug crisis in the 1990s. Now, he’s working to address the growing addiction problem through the county’s own deflection program, which, much like Malheur County’s, faces significant limitations in terms of staffing and resources.
For these rural communities, the opioid crisis represents a multifaceted challenge—one that is far from over. Despite efforts by nonprofits, law enforcement, and local governments, the scale of the problem is daunting. With fentanyl and methamphetamine continuing to flood the region, there is no easy solution. As Malheur County Sheriff Travis Johnson put it, “You can’t force someone into sobriety, but allowing them to use drugs with no consequences is clearly not working.”
For now, these rural communities are left to grapple with a crisis that shows little sign of abating. With limited resources, dwindling public support, and a population stretched thin, the path to recovery will be long and uncertain for many in eastern Oregon.
