ELK, Wash. — Two years after devastating wildfires swept through eastern Washington, hundreds of survivors are still on a long journey toward recovery and working to rebuild their lives.
The Gray and Oregon Road fires became some of the most destructive in Washington state history, destroying hundreds of homes in Elk and Medical Lake in August 2023. The fires left lasting scars on the landscape and in the memories of survivors across the Inland Northwest.
Karin Haworth lost her home in the Oregon Road Fire.
“To this day, I wake up in the morning and relive that day,” Haworth said. “It’s a shock. And you just try to keep your head above water, above the flames, and just keep going. You can’t stop and just cry all the time.”
Pictures, antiques and irreplaceable items all went up in flames during the fire. Just thinking about the loss still brings Haworth to tears.
“I think that if I had realized it completely, I probably would have died. It would have been too much of a shock,” she said.
The recovery process has been painfully slow for many survivors. Haworth has not been able to rebuild her house yet and has been living in two sheds on her property since the fire swept through the area.
“It would be nice to live in a regular home,” she said.
Haworth is not alone in her struggle to rebuild. Many residents in Elk remain in RVs or are camping on their property, hoping to one day reconstruct their homes.
The Spokane Region Long-Term Recovery Group, a local organization helping hundreds of people who lost everything in both fires, has been working to secure assistance for survivors.
“Our group, in the last two years, has brought in several million dollars of help from the state and federal, to try to help those who need the help the most,” said Dick Ziehnert, who works with the recovery group.
Spokane County received $44 million in federal funding for those recovering from the fires, but how this money will be allocated has not been decided yet. The recovery group hopes to receive some of this funding to help people like Haworth rebuild their lives.
Two years later, the emotional toll of the fires remains fresh for many survivors.
“It doesn’t seem like it’s been very long at all. It’s like it just happened yesterday. It’s all those emotions. And I don’t think they’ll ever go away. I’m always going to miss living in that house,” Haworth said.
Despite all the loss and hardship, Haworth maintains her determination to move forward, hoping that one day her plot of land will hold her home once again.
“You have to do something. You have to keep beauty around yourself. No matter how hard life is,” she said.
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