SPOKANE, Wash. — Volunteers and contractors are working to help Spokane families navigate the overwhelming task of cleaning up after the Old Trails Fire devastated the Rifle Club neighborhood.
A team of seven volunteers from Crisis Response International spent the day sifting through enormous piles of ash at two homes near Rifle Club Road and Douglass, searching for items that may hold meaning for the homeowners.
“It looks like there’s nothing there, but by searching carefully, we’ve been able to recover items for the homeowners,” said Jennifer Erwin, deployment manager for Crisis Response International. “It may be only sentimental value, but that’s worth more than gold.”
The volunteers include both local volunteers and people who have traveled from across the country to assist following the disaster. Erwin said the team is scheduled to work for the next several days, and more volunteers could expand the number of homes they can help.
“I know we’re scheduled out until next week sometime. So the more volunteers we get, the more homes we can do,” Erwin said. “But the word is spreading and so we’re trying to get out and do as much as we can with the community.”
Alongside the volunteer recovery efforts, contractors are patrolling the neighborhood to address safety hazards. A crew of foresters from Montana, contracted through Cahoon, has been tasked with identifying trees that are hazardous or at risk of falling. They are also removing trash and helping clean up the neighborhood as residents prepare to return home.
Jonas Redstar, a contractor with the crew, said the scale of destruction was difficult to witness.
“I’ve never really showed up to an area like this, so devastated,” Redstar said. “It’s heartbreaking pulling up. I don’t know what to say, but I feel for these people and this community. We’re here to support however we can.”
Redstar’s crew already removed dangerous trees from the area on a previous day. Now they are focusing on cleaning up any remaining debris they may have missed during that initial pass.
All cleanup and tree removal services are being provided at no cost to residents affected by the fire.
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