SPOKANE, Wash. – Piles of debris are slowly turning into piles of dirt in Spokane neighborhoods destroyed by fires, as more families clear burned foundations and prepare to pour new ones.
Families are making progress, but more obstacles could be ahead.
Those who have started rebuilding have had to complete several steps, including having their properties checked for asbestos. Many sent debris samples out of state, while others opted for a local option.
Mountain Laboratories in Spokane Valley is the only lab in the area that tests for asbestos. Over the summer, the lab had 11 boxes of samples from burned homes waiting to be analyzed. Just yesterday, the lab finished testing the last sample in the backlog.
Lisa Meade, laboratory manager at Mountain Laboratories, said it’s a major milestone.
“Very exciting for us,” she said. “A big relief to get through what we had piled up.”
In total, the lab analyzed about 1,300 samples from an estimated 86 houses. Roughly 5% of those homes had asbestos in at least one of their samples.
“We appreciate everybody’s patience in a very, very frustrating, very trying time for a lot of people,” Meade said. “To be waiting for our little lab to get these samples out to people so that they can move forward — they’re counting on us, waiting for us.”
Contractors say rebuilding will not stop when winter arrives, but it could slow down. Zachary Barker, owner of Barker Construction, estimates weather could extend home construction by about a month. Rain, snow and workers getting sick are all possible obstacles.
“I would really recommend trying to get your foundations poured before winter,” Barker said. “Once you get into the framing stage, it’s a lot easier to work in the winter. But it’s getting your utilities in and getting that concrete work done — that’s going to be your biggest struggles.”
Barker said some workarounds exist and that he finds the progress encouraging.
“It feels really good to be able to come in and just help rebuild one home at a time,” he said.
COPYRIGHT 2026 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
