SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. – More than five months after the two most destructive wildfires in Washington State’s history, survivors of the Gray and Oregon Road fires are still in limbo about whether or not they’ll receive federal aid dollars.
“Being stuck is not a good place to be,” said Kaye Peterson, who moved to Medical Lake last June to work at Silver Lake Bible Camp after retiring as a teacher.
On Aug. 18, with the Gray Fire closing in on Silver Lake, she grabbed her Bible, pillow and laptop, and got in her car.
“We had just a few minutes notice, really, probably less than five minutes, it was ‘leave now leave now leave now,'” Peterson recounted on Thursday. “[We were] going through flames all the way, then you hit a wall of people and flames right outside of the elementary school there in town.”
She returned home after getting the all clear from officials, to find a lot of the camp still standing. Her house, though, was gone.
“Just driving in and seeing all of the trees gone, that was huge,” Peterson said. It’s such a beautiful area, and to have all of the trees gone, that was hard.”
Several months since the fire, Peterson was one of a group of people who met with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers in Spokane on Wednesday to discuss ongoing recovery efforts from the Gray and Oregon Road fires, and the need for a decision from President Joe Biden on federal aid.
“We need an answer from the president, either a yes or a no,” Peterson said.
It’s important to recap the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s (FEMA) Presidential Major Disaster Declaration and federal aid request processes to get a better idea of what’s led to this point.
First, the state of Washington must complete preliminary damage assessments after a disaster in order to get an accurate picture of how much–and what kind–of aid to request from FEMA.
Next, it’s on Washington Governor Jay Inslee and his staff to compile that information and submit a request to the president.
Inslee sent his formal request to President Biden on Oct. 4. The 23 page letter focuses on the need for individual assistance–especially for people who are underinsured–and asks for help from federal agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers for debris removal, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help with testing that debris for contaminants like asbestos, which has proved to be a major issue in the clean up to this point.
Then, it’s up to President Biden to make the final decision on whether or not to officially declare a major disaster and approve federal aid.
It’s now almost February, and there’s been no word from the White House on where things stand, 113 days since Inslee submitted his request in early October.
Earlier this week, Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. McMorris Rodgers sent a joint letter to the president, urging him for an update on his decision.
Stuck in the middle of all of this bureaucratic red tape are people, like Kaye Peterson.
“Until we get that disaster declaration one way or another, it’s hard to move ahead,” Peterson said.
However, Peterson says it’s not so much about whether or not they’ll receive money from FEMA.
Peterson was part of a group who traveled to Olympia to speak with state legislators about ongoing relief efforts, and says the lack of a decision on federal aid has been a major hurdle for other levels of government.
“Everybody we talked to from the governor on down, was like, ‘yes we want to help, but what’s the federal government doing?'” Peterson said. “So, we need an answer one way or another. We want the yes because that will open up the opportunity for grants, small business loans and different opportunities. But without it one way or another, it’s kind of just put a hold on the different piles of money that are available.”
In the meantime, nonprofit organizations are filling in the gaps, like the Spokane Region Long Term Recovery Group, and helping people in Medical Lake and Elk move forward.
“The volunteers have been huge, we’ve gotten so much help from volunteers and neighbors coming in and helping,” Peterson said. “Do we want the government’s help? Yes, we know that we’ll need it for the major projects like the sewer, the roads, some of those things.”
“We definitely need the help, and they want to help us with that,” Peterson continued. “But will the government make us whole again? No.”
Jutting out from the snow-covered landscape across Silver Lake are frames of houses in the process of being rebuilt, juxtaposed against charred trees–proof that the people of Medical Lake will soldier on no matter what.
“It’s huge that this community wants to be here, that they want to live here,” Peterson said. “I do too, it’s the best place to be.”
NonStop Local KHQ made multiple requests for comment from the White House via phone and email, asking for a timeline on when President Biden’s decision can be expected and insight on what has contributed to the delay in the decision making process, but didn’t hear back.
