February 28, 2024
SPOKANE, Wash. — The Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner will have a representative on hand at two Disaster Recovery Centers in the Spokane area this week to help answer insurance questions from people impacted by the wildfires in Eastern Washington in August.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced February 20 (www.fema.gov) that individual assistance was available for residents in Spokane County affected by the Gray and Oregon Road wildfires that occurred between August 18 and 25, 2023.
The fires, combined, destroyed 369 homes, burned more than 21,000 acres of land, and resulted in the deaths of two people.
If you were impacted, be sure to apply for both state and FEMA disaster assistance in order to receive all of the assistance from FEMA that may be available based on your eligibility. FEMA disaster assistance cannot duplicate benefits from insurance, state or other programs; however, if your losses go beyond what’s available from other sources, you may be eligible for additional funds.
An OIC representative will be available starting Thursday at 8:30 a.m. at the Medical Lake Disaster Recovery Center in Medical Lake City Hall (124 S. Lefevre St.) and at the Elk Disaster Recovery Center at Country Church of the Open Bible (40015 N. Collins Rd.).
Both centers open Thursday, February 29. Hours of operation are:
- Monday, Tuesday and Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
- Wednesday and Thursday: 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
- Saturday: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Visit the Spokane Region Long Term Recovery Group page (srltrg.org) for more information.