MEAD, Wash. — As firefighters continue their battle against the Spokane Area Fires on day four, local businesses are mobilizing to support the crews with donations of boots, coffee, meals and encouragement at the Incident Command Center.
Since the command center opened, the Spokane County community has responded with an outpouring of support. This morning alone, local business owners handed out burritos, snacks, coffee and new work boots to firefighters heading back out to fight the fires.
“We couldn’t grab shovels or hoses, but what we could do was give boots away,” said Tim Khadzhi, owner of JK Boots. “We had a guy yesterday who had to duct tape his boots cause they were just so crappy, for lack of a better word. We gave him a new pair of boots, and now he is back out fighting fires.”
Khadzhi says JK Boots initially planned to give away 50 pairs of boots but has already surpassed that goal.
Shantella Caoile, owner of Iced Out Coffee, has also made an effort to support the crews. She set up at the command center to provide more than 1,000 free coffees.
“I wanted to come out and just support the firefighters and rescue teams. So I was just giving out free drinks. Anything on the menu they could have their pick to,” Caoile said.
The Spokane Area Fires have burned for three days, and fire officials expect the number of personnel working on the fires to reach 2,000 in the coming days.
While firefighters appreciate support from local businesses, they also encourage people to donate to communities directly impacted by the fires.
You can learn more about ways to help through this link.
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