As fires roar through its hills and forests, Colville tribe watches its ‘life’s blood burn’

As fires roar through its hills, forests, the Colville tribe watches its ‘life’s blood burn’

Section:Gallery

Sat., July 17, 2021

Dan Nanamkin, holds a drum with Chief Joseph painted on it as he describes how the Chuweah Creek Fire crested the ridge behind him Monday night and nearly claimed his home on Friday, July 17, 2021, near Nespelem, Wash.

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Ralph Moses pats his horse Julio, which survived the Chuweah Creek Fire, as he and his dog Ginger survey the damage near his home in July near Nespelem, Wash.

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Ralph Moses shows footage of Chuweah Creek Fire approaching his home that he shot before he was evacuated Monday night along with his family on Friday, July 17, 2021, near Nespelem, Wash.

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Colville Tribal Chairman Andrew "Badger" Joseph pauses as he surveys the damage of the Chuweah Creek Fire on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, from the Colville Tribal Government building in Nespelem, Wash. Fire crews stopped the fire before it reached the building. The tribe is now suing the federal government over devastating wildfires from 2015.

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Ralph Moses’s neice Michelle Franklin’s home, which was destroyed by the Chuweah Creek Fire earlier in the week, is photographed on Friday, July 17, 2021, near Nespelem, Wash.

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Ralph Moses stands on a hill above his home where he watched the Chuweah Creek Fire approaching before he was forced to evacuate Monday night along with his family on Friday, July 17, 2021, near Nespelem, Wash.

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Colville Tribal Chairman Andrew "Badger" Joseph pauses as he surveys the damage of the Chuweah Creek Fire on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, from the Colville Tribal Government building in Nespelem, Wash. Fire crews stopped the fire before it reached the building.

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Chuweah Creek Fire claimed a large portion of the Colville Tribes timberlands as photographed on Friday, July 16, 2021, in Nespelem, Wash. The tribe relies heavily on timber sales for economic support.

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Bark peals back from a tree burned by the Chuweah Creek Fire as photographed on Friday, July 16, 2021, in Nespelem, Wash. The tribe relies heavily on timber sales for economic support.

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Liv Stecker, a public information officer with Northwest Incident Management Team 12, points to a map as she gives a breifing on the Chuweah Creek Fire’s containment on Friday, July 16, 2021, in Nespelem, Wash.

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A group of Ralph Moses’ horses which survived the Chuweah Creek Fire graze on ground near his home that wasn’t burned when the fire passed through earlier in the week on Friday, July 17, 2021, near Nespelem, Wash.

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