Disaster Assistance Center opens at SFCC for people impacted by Gray, Oregon Road Fires

Volunteers in purple aprons unloaded boxes of food and cases of water at the new Disaster Assistance Center that opened Friday to help people affected by Spokane area wildfires.

“The main goal of a center is to have all of the resources in one place,” said Simone Ramel-McKay with Spokane County Emergency Management. “We don’t want people have to drive here, drive there – all over town to get their questions answered.”

The center, located at 3305 W. Whistalks Way, Building 9, was just getting started Friday with about 10 groups represented including the Red Cross, Veterans Outreach Program, Department of Licensing, the Salvation Army and more.

More groups and agencies are expected to be present over the weekend and early next week, Ramel-McKay said.

It’s important for everyone affected by the Gray and Oregon Road fires to register with the emergency management either at the center or online, once the form is available, Ramel-McKay said.

People who lost power to those who lost everything should register because emergency management need to provide an accurate picture of who was impacted and how to the federal government in hopes of getting additional aid.

“The more people encourage their neighbors to register and they get registered, the greater potential is that resources will open up,” Ramel-McKay said.

People should also register with the Red Cross, which will assign case workers and provide as many resources as possible with their available funds, said Frank Hules.

It’s great that people want to help, Ramel-McKay said, however bringing donations to the center clogs up the system. Instead people are encouraged to make monetary donations to the organization of their choosing. Both the Red Cross and Innovia Foundation are set up to assist fire victims.

The Employment Security Department had a large booth at the Disaster Assistance Center. They can help with work related issues, if the fire caused the loss of a job, an injury, loss of work clothing, or other problems the Employment Security Department staff on scene can help navigate existing resources, Steve Ruggles, with the department, said.

Bill Stephenson, with Northwest Baptist Disaster Relief, was at the center Friday providing information about the groups free fire-cleanup services.

Representatives from the Washington Department of Licensing also were there to help people who may have lost their IDs in the fire.

Joe Dumalo, a Four Lakes resident himself, was at the center representing the Veterans Outreach Program. He and his colleagues can provide referral services for veterans and active service members, help them understand their benefits and get them into crisis mental health care.

“We jokingly call Medical Lake ‘Fairchild Housing South,’ ” he said with a chuckle.

Many families in the area are connected to the Air Force and should access their benefits in this difficult time, he said.

The Disaster Assistance Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily for an indefinite period, said Ramel-McKay. An updated list of available services will be posted on the Spokane County Emergency Management Facebook page when available.