When the Wrights Spring Fire tore through Klamath County, Oregon, it didn’t just destroy Canaan Manley’s home. It wiped out the place where he built his business.
Manley, the owner of Basin Motorsports Upholstery, lost his one-man auto upholstery shop, his tools, his equipment, years of collected materials and much of the homestead he and his wife, Nikki, had spent years building.
Almost everything was gone in a matter of hours.
“We lost almost everything to fire last night,” Manley wrote on Facebook after the blaze. “The Wright Forest Fire took almost 99% of everything we own last night.”
“I don’t have words to describe how I feel other than lost.”
The Wrights Spring Fire forced the Manleys to evacuate their Sprague River property after it was placed under a Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation order. They left with their three house dogs, critical belongings, vehicles, trailers and as many animals as they could safely take.
They thought they would return.
Instead, the fire moved faster than they imagined.
“Saturday afternoon it was potentially the threat,” Manley told News Watch 12. “So we left everything prepared to come back Sunday and check on everything. And Sunday morning we got a call. It was gone. It had gone 3 and 1/2 miles in a day.”
The fire destroyed their home, two barns, six other outbuildings, their solar power system, water infrastructure, livestock facilities and Manly’s upholstery business.
The couple estimates their losses are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A business built from passion
Basin Motorsports Upholstery was a young business, but one built around decades of Manley’s passion for cars.
He started seriously learning upholstery in 2023 and opened the business in January 2024. Before that, he considered himself a car builder and motorsports enthusiast, working on vehicles and learning the craft.
His shop focused mostly on smaller jobs — bench seats, headliners, small repairs — rather than full interiors.
“I try to focus on the smaller jobs I can turn around in two weeks or less,” he told The Hog Ring.
Among the projects he was most proud of was a 1948 Frazer sedan he restored for an 80-year-old customer who wanted to bring back memories of a car he owned when he was 16.
The project represented the kind of craftsmanship and community Manley hoped to build his business around.
Then the fire took it all.
“I lost everything related to my business and personal tools that I’ve collected over the last 35 years of being a motorsports enthusiast,” he said.
Inside the shop were his brand new NC sewing machine, hand tools, drill press, hydraulic press, engine hoist, 3D printer, carbon fiber materials and years’ worth of upholstery supplies.
He had also collected original cloth and vinyl materials that were no longer being manufactured — pieces of automotive history he wanted to preserve for the industry.
“I’ve tried to buy original materials that aren’t made anymore, so they aren’t lost,” he said. “In my head it was a great way to hold a piece of history and keep it available for our industry.”
Fortunately, Manley was able to save his customers’ projects before evacuating.
“I took out all my customers’ stuff out when we evacuated,” he said in a TikTok video. “As crazy as that might sound to some people, but I wanted to make sure I kept my reputation as an upholstery trimmer and a business owner.”
Rebuilding without insurance
One of the biggest obstacles facing the Manleys is that they did not have property insurance.
They said insurance companies repeatedly denied them coverage because their rural property was considered too high-risk. Their home was located down a Forest Service road, relied on solar power and had other characteristics insurers cited as reasons they would not provide coverage.
After years of investing their savings into the property, the couple found themselves without a safety net.
“Everyone always assumes insurance is available for a reasonable cost,” Manley said. “Most people we have explained it to can’t fathom not having the insurance option.”
The Manleys had spent years creating their homestead. They added livestock buildings, greenhouses, a solar system and other infrastructure while working to make the property self-reliant.
They also lost animals in the fire. Many of their larger livestock survived, but poultry and rabbits were lost.
“The feeling was just lost,” the couple said after briefly returning to assess the damage. “We quickly determined almost everything was lost and focused on what animals did and didn’t make it.”
A long road ahead
Despite losing his shop, Manley is already working to get Basin Motorsports Upholstery running again.
A retired mentor and friend has opened his shop to Manley, allowing him to continue taking on projects with access to basic tools and a sewing machine.
“I was down for about a week on upholstery, and my customers have been great about me moving my deadlines,” he said. “I’m only able to work 3 hours in the morning, but I’m slowly getting back on track.”
The temporary arrangement allows him to work, but rebuilding his own shop is the goal.
The concrete foundation survived, and Manley hopes to rebuild on the same site.
“This was the shop,” he said in a YouTube video while looking at the remains. “This was a 44 ft wide by 30 deep. And the concrete, I think, is still good underneath. So, we’re going to try and get this rebuilt the way it was.”
Still, standing among what remained, the loss was overwhelming.
“I’m still kind of in shock looking at it,” he said. “There’s nothing left. I mean, it was so hot in there. It just burned my engine stand. My lift, my press, drill press, whatever’s in there is gone. All gone.”
The family is now staying with friends in Klamath Falls while they work to restore their property. They are trying to rebuild their home, replace livestock shelters and restore power and water systems before winter arrives.
“We’re trying to redo 13 years of work in less than 4 months, or as much as possible before the snow sets in,” Manley said.
For now, he is asking for help from the community — not just to rebuild a building, but to rebuild the livelihood he created with his own hands.
“We’re proud people and are willing to work hard,” the Manleys wrote in their GoFundMe. “But we are asking our community for a little help. ANYTHING is helpful right now.”
Donations to help the Manleys rebuild their home, homestead and Basin Motorsports Upholstery can be made through their GoFundMe campaign.
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