MALDEN, Wash. — The town of Malden had a bit of a scare over the weekend when a wildfire started nearby, resurfacing difficult memories from the devastating 2020 Babb Road Fire.
The 50 to 60-acre fire broke out on the evening of August 10, just two miles north of Malden near Wells Road and Pine City-Malden Road.
Fortunately, firefighters were able to knock the flames down quickly.
“Winds were fortunately in our favor, as they were pretty minimal, and it was pushing the fire to the northeast. So, the head of the fire was moving away from Malden,” said Fire Chief Laura Lautenslager of Whitman County Fire District 7.
Although it never reached Malden, the scare was enough to bring up some of the community’s fears after the Babb Road Fire destroyed the town four years ago.
Mark Butler lost his home in the Babb Road Fire and watched the smoke from the August 10 fire from his home.
“I was nervous. Everybody at my house was nervous. I got three people with me, and we were all standing on the back deck watching it from where I live,” said Butler.
While fire officials said there was no real threat to the town of Malden, residents raised some concerns over how the city responded to the fire.
“We’ve got a brand new alarm system that they’ve been testing out, and nothing was going off,” said Butler.
Whitman County Fire District 7 said they didn’t sound the siren because the fire was slow-moving and there was no immediate threat to the town.
“Had we needed the siren, we had somebody in immediate contact with the individual who was here at the fire station ready to sound it if need be,” said Chief Lautenslager.
The town of Malden has worked hard to rebuild since the Babb Road Fire, but it remains vigilant of the reality that another fire could threaten the town.
“The fears that Malden has are very real fears. I have those. Each and everyone of us have that. We see smoke and we want to know where it’s going,” said Malden Mayor Dan Harwood.
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