Spokane, WA

What to Do After a Fire Damages Your Spokane Home September 28, 2026 Spokane, WA What to Do After a Fire Damages Your Spokane Home The first time you pull back into your driveway after a fire, your instincts will tell you to start fixing things. Grab a shovel, sweep the ash, and salvage what you can. Hold that thought for a few days. The weeks after the Spokane Complex Fires are when homeowners make the mistakes that cost them the most. Some are safety mistakes. Others quietly weaken an insurance claim or slow down cleanup months later. This guide covers the first steps that actually matter, in the order they matter. It applies whether your home burned completely, lost part of its roof, or is still standing with ash drifted inside. The goal is simple: protect your family, protect your claim, and set up the cleanup to go smoothly. Confirm Your Home Is Safe to Enter Your neighborhood reopening does not mean your house is safe. Fire officials clear areas, but a burned structure can still hide weak framing, damaged wiring, or leaking gas. Start with a walk around the outside. Look for: A sagging or partially collapsed roof Damaged power lines, meters, or electrical panels A gas smell near the meter or foundation Cracked or leaning walls Burned HVAC units or melted siding If you see any of these, stay out and get a professional to look first. Burned or damaged lithium-ion batteries can remain hazardous after a fire. Don’t handle damaged batteries or enter a garage or workshop that may contain them unless the area has been cleared as safe. Gear Up Before You Touch Anything Wear the right protection around ash and debris. Ash from burned homes carries metals, plastics, and chemicals that don’t exist in wildland ash. Item Why It Matters N95 or P100 respirator Filters fine ash particles Long sleeves and pants Keeps ash off skin Heavy gloves Protects against glass, nails, melted metal Eye protection Ash irritates eyes quickly Closed-toe boots Hidden debris under ash Keep kids and pets away entirely. Change clothes and shoes before getting back in your car. Handle Utilities the Right Way Don’t try to restore water, power, or gas on your own. Damaged lines can flood, spark, or leak the moment service returns. If your city water was shut off, call Spokane 311 to have it turned back on. Once service returns after a week or more of no use, run your taps to flush stale water before drinking. On a private well, which is common across the West Plains and north county, follow health district guidance before drinking. Heat and power loss can both affect a well system. Don’t Sweep, Shovel, or Haul Debris Yet Leaving debris alone is the single most important thing you can do right now. Moving it early creates health, legal, and cost problems. For homes still standing, skip the broom. Sweeping throws ash back into the air. Lightly mist it with water, then wipe with a damp cloth or use a HEPA vacuum. For burned structures, leave everything in place. Debris must be tested for asbestos before removal, and household hazardous materials are being removed automatically unless you opt out. Our fire debris cleanup timeline explains how that sequence works. Document Everything for Insurance Photos and video taken before anything is moved can provide valuable documentation for your insurance claim. Once debris is gone, that proof is gone too. Work through your property room by room: Take wide shots of every room and each side of the exterior Take close-ups of damaged items, soot marks, and burned areas Record video while narrating what you see Save receipts for hotels, meals, and supplies Keep a written log of every call with your insurer Remember that smoke damage counts even when flames never reached a room. Soot travels through vents, windows, and door gaps. Call Your Insurance Company Early Report your claim as soon as you can, even if you don’t have all the details. Starting early keeps your claim moving while testing and permits are still in progress. Washington’s Insurance Commissioner issued an emergency order for areas affected by the 2026 wildfires. Through September 30, 2026, the order provides a 45-day grace period for premium payments, waives late and reinstatement fees, and restricts cancellation for nonpayment. Check with your insurer on whether the order is extended. If your claim stalls or you have questions about your policy, the state’s consumer hotline at 800-562-6900 is free. Watch Out for Rushed Decisions Disasters bring out-of-area contractors knocking on doors with same-day offers. Signing too fast is one of the most common regrets after a fire. Before you hire anyone: Verify their contractor license through Washington L&I Ask for a written scope and price before work starts Confirm they know the asbestos survey and permit requirements Ask for local references you can actually call Anyone offering to haul debris before testing is a red flag. Take It One Step at a Time You don’t need to solve everything this week. Safe entry, documentation, and an insurance call are enough to start. Cleanup, demolition, and rebuilding follow once testing and permits are in place. Families who move carefully in the first few weeks usually have fewer surprises later. Frequently Asked Questions QCan I stay in my home if it has smoke damage but no fire damage? APossibly. Homes without structural damage may be livable after careful cleaning, but heavy soot, damaged utilities, or chemical smells need professional help first. QShould I throw out food from a home near the fire? AYes, if it was exposed. Toss anything unsealed, heat-exposed, or spoiled from a power outage. When in doubt, throw it out. QIs my homeowners insurance still active if I missed a payment? ALikely yes for now. The state emergency order requires a 45-day grace period and blocks nonpayment cancellations in affected ZIP codes through September 30. QCan volunteers help clear my burned property? ANot yet. Debris

Fire Cleanup Timeline: Testing, Permits, Removal September 28, 2026 Spokane, WA Fire Cleanup Timeline: Testing, Permits, Removal Walking back onto a burned property is hard enough. Not knowing what comes next makes it worse. Across Airway Heights, Nine Mile Falls, Mead, and the West Plains, hundreds of Spokane County families are now in the same spot. The evacuation orders are lifted, but the debris is still sitting there, and nobody seems to agree on how long it will take to clear. The honest answer is that fire cleanup follows a fixed sequence. Each step depends on the one before it, and most delays come from a step being skipped or done out of order. Once you understand that sequence, you can plan around it instead of waiting in the dark. Here’s how the process works in Spokane County, who handles each piece, and what tends to slow things down. Why Fire Cleanup Follows a Strict Order Cleanup runs in order because each agency needs proof the previous step is done. Your permit depends on your asbestos paperwork, and your disposal depends on your test results. That chain exists for safety. Burned homes release asbestos, lead, and heavy metals into the ash. Moving debris before it’s tested can spread those materials across your lot and your neighbors’ yards. It also protects your wallet. Debris hauled without a survey is treated as asbestos waste, which can cost up to four times more to dispose of. The Cleanup Sequence at a Glance Most Spokane County fire properties move through six stages. Here’s the full picture before we break each one down. Stage Who Handles It Common Hold-Up 1. Household hazmat removal EPA (federal program) Crew scheduling across hundreds of parcels 2. Asbestos survey AHERA-certified inspector Inspector availability 3. Notice of Intent Owner or contractor, filed with Spokane Clean Air Missing survey results 4. Demolition permit Spokane County Building Department (or City) Missing NOI copy 5. Debris removal and disposal Licensed contractor or abatement company Positive asbestos results 6. Site prep for rebuild Contractor, engineer Foundation decisions, erosion control Stage 1: Household Hazardous Material Removal The first step is removing dangerous household items like propane tanks, paints, pool chemicals, and lithium batteries. The EPA is running this program for burned properties in the county at no direct cost to owners. Owners can opt out, but that usually means handling those materials on your own dime. For most families, letting the EPA finish is the faster and safer path. One thing to know: the EPA does not test for asbestos. That’s a separate step you’ll still need. Stage 2: The Asbestos Survey An AHERA-certified building inspector must test the ash and debris before anything gets moved. This applies to the house, garage, and any burned outbuildings. While you wait for results, leave the debris alone. That goes for you, volunteers, and any company offering to help. Disturbing tested debris can invalidate the survey. What happens next depends on the result: Negative: You or a Washington-licensed contractor can remove the debris Positive: A Washington Certified Asbestos Abatement Company must remove the asbestos-containing material Stages 3 and 4: The NOI and Your Permit Once you have survey results, a Notice of Intent gets filed with Spokane Clean Air. This is required whether the result is positive or negative. The NOI matters because the City and County both want a copy before they’ll issue a demolition or building permit. Right now, Spokane Clean Air is waiving NOI fees and waiting periods for fire-affected owners, which removes one common delay. With the NOI in hand, your contractor can apply for the demolition and debris removal permit. Properties inside city limits go through the City of Spokane instead. Stage 5: Debris Removal and Disposal Removal starts once the permit is issued. How the debris is handled depends entirely on your survey. Survey Result Where Debris Can Go Negative Graham Road Landfill, Valley Transfer Station, or Northside Transfer Station (survey copy must travel with the load) Positive Graham Road Landfill only, handled by a certified abatement company Ash is not accepted at the Waste-to-Energy Facility. That’s why proper sorting on site matters so much. Stage 6: Preparing the Lot for Rebuilding The final stage leaves you with a clean, buildable lot. That usually means clearing ash, grading, and opening access for your builder. If you want to keep your existing foundation, a structural engineer must inspect and certify it. The county does not do this inspection for you. Sloped lots or properties near creeks may also need erosion control once soil is disturbed. Burned ground loses the vegetation that normally holds it in place. Local Factors That Can Stretch the Timeline A few conditions specific to this fire and this region can add time: Volume: More than 800 structures burned, so inspectors, abatement crews, and permit staff are all in high demand Permit load: City officials have said they don’t yet know if a flood of applications will strain staff Season: Fall rain and winter freezes can complicate grading and hauling on rural West Plains and north county lots Starting paperwork early is the best way to stay ahead of the backlog. Keeping Your Property Safe While You Wait The waiting period is where many avoidable problems happen. A few habits protect your family and your cleanup: Keep children and pets away from ash and debris Wear an N95 or P100 respirator if you must be near ash Remove shoes and change clothes before entering a car or home Photograph everything for your insurance file before any work begins Don’t let well-meaning volunteers move debris before testing Frequently Asked Questions QCan I remove fire debris before the asbestos test comes back? ANo. Debris must stay untouched until results arrive. Moving it early can spread contaminants and create problems with disposal and permits. QDo I still need a Notice of Intent if my asbestos survey is negative? AYes. Spokane Clean Air requires an NOI either way, and you’ll need a copy