Talent, OregonOn a hazy afternoon last week, an odd threesome headed toward a National Guard roadblock in southern Oregon: Libby Dimick, a 65-year-old nurse, clutching three flower bouquets; Logan Vaughn, a local handyman friend of hers; and Logan’s 15-month-old son Trace, whom Logan pushed in a stroller that also carried a shovel and a metal detector. The air was heavy with the smell of smoke and burnt plastic, the kind that sticks to your hair and clothes. The area had been closed off on all sides by the National Guard and the trio hoped to pass unnoticed.

As Libby led Logan toward the remains of Oak Valley, her 55-and-up community just outside the tiny town of Talent, she had two things on