Spokane wildfire evacuees return home, but it's 'still a hazmat situation'
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it → return → ?
Just weeks after wildfires destroyed hundreds of homes in some of the worst blazes in Washington state history, most evacuees have been allowed to return to the burn zones in and around Spokane.
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evacuees → destroy → Spokane
But there are mounting questions about whether it's safe yet.
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it → be → ?
"It is a very challenging thing," says Sarah Nuss, the city's director of emergency management.
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Nuss → say → management
"While folks are allowed to go back into those areas there is still a hazmat situation going on.
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folks → allow → areas
The burned houses and damaged places are going to have things like lithium ion batteries, hazardous chemicals."
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houses → burn → batteries
Before any rebuilding can begin, wildfire recovery starts with the dirty work of removing all the toxic debris left behind, which can also include lead paint siding, exploded propane tanks and other potentially dangerous hazards that litter the burn zone.
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that → begin → zone
The federal Environmental Protection Agency is just arriving here to begin that typical first phase of toxic debris removal.
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Agency → arrive → removal
The entire debris removal process can take months, if not years.
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process → take → months
Nuss says a lot of the city's work right now is educating people about the potential risks.
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lot → say → risks
"We have no legal ability to keep people out," she says.
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she → have → people
"What we are trying to do right now is really understand and document all the risks across what kind of household people are going back into."
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people → try → household
Survivors say it looked like a bomb went off
The Old Trails Fire was one of three wildfires that ignited here in an extreme heat and wind event in early August.
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that → say → August
Suspected to have been started by an arsonist, it leveled whole neighborhoods when the flames jumped the Spokane River.
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flames → suspect → River
For Melissa and Chris Matthews, the devastation is jarring as they survey their destroyed property.
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they → survey → property
"When we turned onto our road, Old Fort Drive, I said it looked like a bomb went off here," Melissa says as Chris adds: "Yeah it looked like a war zone is what you said."
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you → turn → what
They lost almost everything.
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They → lose → everything
All that remains of their Prius is a twisted hunk of metal.
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that → remain → metal
The home, built some thirty years ago, is now rubble.
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home → build → ?
They've filed their insurance claim and hope to rebuild.
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They → file → claim
"It's daunting," Chris says.
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Chris → say → ?
"I'm expecting it to be like three or four years before anything happens."
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anything → expect → ?
A year after deadly urban wildfires in Colorado and Hawaii, no homes had been fully rebuilt.
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homes → rebuild → Colorado
One study showed that three years after the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, only 14% of the burned zone was rebuilt.
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% → show → zone
In each case, the full scope of the public health risks didn't emerge until people started moving back in and cleanup got underway.
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cleanup → emerge → risks
A few lots over from the Matthews, someone in a Hazmat suit is combing through the debris.
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someone → comb → debris
The couple, in street clothes, says they haven't even started looking for anything to salvage.
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they → say → anything
Near them is a box with a wood and mesh sifter to comb through the debris.
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box → comb → debris
When the wind kicks up even just a little, it's hard to endure the dust and smells.
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it → kick → dust
"Yeah the air is not good," Chris Matthews says.
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Matthews → say → ?
"I've had a sore throat for the last few days because of coming down here and everything."
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I → have → days
Not even a football field away from the Matthews destroyed neighborhood, many homes look unscathed.
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homes → destroy → neighborhood
Nearby, a memory care center, surrounded by a big green watered lawn, is reopening.
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center → surround → lawn
A sign reads, "welcome home, we missed you," as buses pull up to move patients back in.
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buses → read → patients
City officials posted signs throughout these neighborhoods alerting people whose homes are still standing to wear protective gear, have their properties inspected by the city and to flush their water pipes.
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properties → post → pipes
Disaster recovery experts warn contamination of city water sources or the underground lines that feed out from them are common after wildfires.
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that → warn → wildfires
Nuss says the city is still testing Spokane's water and has yet to find any problems.
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city → say → problems
"It is alarming and I look back, especially across California, and you would just think there's a manual on this at this point," Nuss says.
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Nuss → look → point
"We know what to do."
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If there's one bright spot amid the West's recent wave of devastating wildfires, it's that Spokane isn't recovering alone.
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Spokane → be → wildfires
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
