Federal Wildfire Aid Requested
Washington Seeks $129 Million in Federal Aid Following Devastating Wildfires
Anonymous
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has asked President Donald Trump to declare a major disaster for Eastern Washington wildfires, seeking about $11.2 million in FEMA assistance for residents of four counties and the Spokane Tribe, plus $117.7 million for cleanup and emergency costs across 11 counties. Assessments found 649 homes destroyed and thousands more damaged, while the fires burned nearly 369,000 acres and forced mass evacuations. Many affected households face substantial recovery costs: the state said only about 70% of homes in its assessment were insured, and coverage often would not pay the full cost to rebuild. Ferguson also outlined state measures to aid rebuilding, including possible building-code flexibility, tax relief and faster debris removal; the region already received state emergency aid, and a federal emergency declaration supported the immediate response.
Key Points
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Spokane County bore most of the residential destruction: 615 primary homes were destroyed there, and more than 65,000 people were evacuated as three fires spread.
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Ferguson’s request letter said the fires caused widespread power outages, disrupted essential services, damaged rural ranching and agricultural businesses, and injured dozens of firefighters.
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Ferguson said he hoped the federal government would respond faster than it did to the state’s earlier flood-aid request, which took seven weeks to receive a positive response.
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Washington had set aside $2.5 million in individual assistance and other emergency cash aid; nearly $1 million had already reached more than 600 households.
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