SPOKANE, Wash. — Thousands of families are still away from their homes, and many are wondering when they can return.
Roads like North Indian Trail are blocked off by the police and National Guard, but many people are walking by foot past those roadblocks.
Each morning at 9:30 a.m., firefighters, Incident Command, the Sheriff’s Office and utility company representatives are meeting to discuss whether it’s safe to allow people back in these evacuated neighborhoods. If changes occur after this meeting, evacuation updates are posted to the county’s evacuation map in the afternoon.
Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels will make the final call on whether or not people can return home. In a press conference Wednesday, Sheriff Nowels says, “We are not going to be downgrading these zones in any large way for many, many more days.”
Despite no active fire currently burning in some evacuated areas, multiple officials in this meeting say families cannot return home because the fires damaged gas lines and broke water lines. At the Five Mile neighborhood, Fire District Nine says the ground is still smoldering and can easily ignite again.
Officials involved in the daily meetings have made clear they don’t want to risk letting people back into unsafe areas, if there is another emergency evacuation that could happen.
However, many evacuees’ express frustration over the uncertainty and extended timeline. “We don’t know. It’s frustrating. We’ve been waiting on the meetings at 9:30, hoping to hear like soon after, but then we still don’t hear anything,” said Natalie LeBret-White, an evacuated resident.
The stress of displacement weighs heavily on families. “We’re taking it day by day, and I think that that comes with its own kind of difficulty and stress,” said Erica Norris, another evacuated resident.
You can monitor the county’s evacuation map for any updates or downgraded evacuations.
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