A Wildfire in Eastern Washington Has Killed One and Destroyed 185 Structures: A Person is Dead After a Wind-Driven Fire
“My thoughts are with the … residents who have been ordered to evacuate as the Gray Fire grows,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said on X, formally known as Twitter. “I’m also praying for the safety of the first responders working to contain the fire. May you know that you are out of harm’s way.
A person is dead after a wind-driven wildfire destroyed at least 185 structures in eastern Washington state.
A fire began shortly after noon on Friday on the west side of Medical Lake, located about fifteen miles west of Spokane, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
It grew to nearly 15 square miles (38 square kilometers) by Saturday morning, with zero containment. The case was the same as Saturday evening. She said officials didn’t expect to have new size estimates until Sunday.
The town was ordered to evacuate as the winds blew the flames to the south. She said that the Evacuation was extended Saturday evening to the town of Tyler.
The fire swept through the neighborhood just after they left, destroying his parents’ and uncle’s homes. He said that his parents paid off their mortgage last year.
The blaze burned through the south side of the town and then jumped Interstate 90 on Friday night, forcing its closure, Hoygaard said. The major east-west thoroughfare remained closed in both directions Saturday evening.
Source: A wildfire in eastern Washington has killed one and destroyed 185 structures
The 6-year-old girl in a Maui wildfires: ‘They’ve lost everything’ — John Oliver’s message to the doctor
The department of social and health services has shelter in place for staff and residents of both Eastern State Hospital and the Lakeland Village Residential Habilitation Center.
But the scale of the inner damage can be seen in the 5-year-old girl that Maui’s chief mental health administrator John Oliver saw the other day. The girl came with her mother into the Lahaina community health clinic, next to the main burn zone, clutching a green and purple plushy stuffed animal. She seemed withdrawn and afraid.
” I asked her name, how she was, and what she was doing with her stuffed animal.” And she just offered up that ‘I’m sad.’ I apologized and asked, ‘Why are you sad?’ She said that she was sad because she saw so many dead bodies.
Soon the psychiatrist came in and the mom told Oliver that when her daughter says she misses her friend, it’s her best friend. She died in the fire.
Source: Massive mental health toll in Maui wildfires: ‘They’ve lost everything’
The Maui Wildfires: ‘They’ve Lost Everything‘. Mental Health Administrator David Oliver says ‘We’re going to have to find a new home’
Survivors are still dealing with physical challenges like where they’ll be living in the coming weeks and months. But size of the emotional and psychological toll here is coming into sharper focus as the need for mental health support is growing. Mental health administrator Oliver calls it “the worst mental health disaster in our state’s modern history.”
“They’ve lost family, they’ve lost their pets. They’ve lost everything,” says south Maui clinical social worker Debbie Scott. She says that after the initial shock, the deep trauma of the fire is giving way to a host of other feelings.
“There’s a heaviness in the air that is — we’re destroyed,” social worker Scott says. We aren’t going to have all the answers at the moment. The community center in South Maui that has been turned into a temporary shelter has been temporarily turned into a private practice by her. “We’re coping.”
Scott at the south Maui shelter was offered the chance to move into a nicer hotel room or into an apartment through the use of an alternative method of housing, such as hotels or apartments. Scott says an older man felt safer in the shelter, but several others did not want to go. Both of his hands were fully bandaged from serious burns. Scott went over and sat with him.
“I called him by his name and I said ‘listen let’s see about what we need to do to make sure you feel safe enough to get on that bus’” to a better temporary home.
“It took some work but I did get him on that bus. And he was thankful to have his bags and he sure was thankful to have his flip flops. He needed his slippers, that was his need.”
Source: Massive mental health toll in Maui wildfires: ‘They’ve lost everything’
Mental Health Treatment in Maui Wildfires: “They’ve Lost Everything”, said A. R. Coulson, 17, an American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Manager
Compounding the grief here, hundreds are still listed as unaccounted for. People are unable to identify their missing loved ones. So far, only a few of the remains have been identified. And some may never be found.
“If you break it down to one word, we are trying to give people hope,” said 17-yearveteran American Red Cross disaster mental health manager. “It’s all about listening, empathizing and connecting people with services right now.”
Coulson has helped survivors navigate mental health needs in multiple, large disasters including the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif., which until recently was the deadliest wildfire in modern history with at least 85 killed. The volunteer mobilized to Maui from Iowa as soon as scope of this disaster became apparent. “It’s the most devastating trauma I’ve experienced let alone that the clients I’m working with have experienced,” he says.
A fresh influx of clinicians is being sought by state and federal officials, according to the Maui behavioral health administrator. Hawaii’s governor issued an emergency order waiving the state licensing requirement for counseling.
She says, “Anything that is breathing, anything that is progressive muscle relaxation, anything that is peaceful practices, anything that is relaxing, just sitting, stretching or making jokes – those are all things.”
Source: Massive mental health toll in Maui wildfires: ‘They’ve lost everything’
The best friend that I have ever met, is Rio. What am we going to do next? Why are we saddened about the loss of our home?
My handsome boy is called Rio. I say he’s smart, smart and stubborn, he’s my best friend,” Vance says, introducing her nine-year-old dog. She lost her home in the fire. She and Rio are now volunteering at shelters and counseling Maui hotel employees affected by the fire.
People just love him because I have taken him to my sessions. “We were talking about how are you and how are you,” she said, ” and it gave a nice entrance into the conversations that need to be had.”
Who helped the counselors who had to flee a deadly wildfire and lose their home? Vance admits both she and Rio are weary. Vance and these other mental health professionals underscore that the fire survivors will be reckoning with their wounds for a very long time.
When I ran out of the house, Rio got into the car and I saw that he just wanted to go home. Are we going to go home now? I looked at him and said I wanted to go home as well, but we do not have a home anymore. But we’ll make the best of what we’ve got.’”