PHOTOS: In Gates, resilience and loss as residents return

Letters inside of a melted mailbox in Gates on Sunday, September 20. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

The north bank of the Santiam River one block from Gates City Hall was still smoking Sunday as families returned to town.

Gates was among the Santiam Canyon communities hit hard by the Beachie Creek Fire, which roared down the canyon in the early hours of Sept. 8. Marion County said it was safe for residents to return last week.