SPOKANE, Wash. — As families across Spokane recover from devastating fires, many face a critical decision: rebuild their homes or sell the burned property and start fresh elsewhere.
For some, the choice hinges on insurance coverage and finances. But for older homeowners, the obstacles to rebuilding can run deeper than money and logistics.
Alan Basham and his wife lived in their home near Rifle Club Road for 13 years before the Old Trails Fire destroyed it. Though their insurance would have covered a rebuild, the couple has decided to put the property up for sale instead.
The decision was due, in part, to their ages. Basham is 78 years old, and his wife is turning 70.
“At our ages, in other words, we don’t have enough time to put into rebuilding a house and then moving into it,” Basham said. “So, for us, it was our ages and our place in life. Now, many of the people on this block, they’re young families with children, so it’s very different for them.”
The decision to sell extends beyond practical concerns. Basham said the neighborhood was tight-knit, and they recognized that even a rebuilt home would exist in a fundamentally changed community.
Basham also said the property now holds traumatic memories. As he and his wife evacuated this summer, he remembers seeing their fence already on fire.
“There wasn’t anything that would have convinced us to stay and build,” he said. “Maybe if we had had a contractor say, ‘I’ll have it up and done in six months.’ Maybe. But that’s not going to happen. I mean, that’s not realistic.”
Basham, a professor emeritus of psychology at Eastern Washington University, said he’s also worried about ongoing mental health impacts on his neighbors and community.
“I’m wondering about what’s happening in the spirit of people who are having to start over,” Basham said. “There needs to be some real intentional work designed to kind of help them cope, I think.”
The Bashams remain undecided about whether to clear their property before selling or list it as-is. Basham said they’re not in a hurry to make a decision and are waiting for what they consider a fair offer.
In the meantime, the couple is renting a duplex while they determine their next move. They have not yet decided where they will relocate permanently.
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