MALDEN, Wash. — Two years after the Babb Road Fire destroyed the towns of Malden and Pine City, the town of Malden and Pine Creek Community Restoration Long Term Recovery Organization (LTRO) hosted the Malden-Pine City Revival on Sunday.
The revival ran from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday in the Community Park, at the corner of Moreland and Ash, in downtown Malden.
People enjoyed free food and games during the event, as well as activities such as cornhole, a bike clinic, a fire truck tour, live music and door prizes. The event was free and open to the public.
"The Malden-Pine City Revival is an opportunity for our residents to come together and celebrate what we have accomplished, and to continue imagining what kind of future we want," said LTRO's acting director Chandelle Frick in a statement.
Malden resident Bob Law served hot dogs and guests are invited to bring a side dish to share. During the event, SCJ Alliance Consulting will be available with park design kits to get residents’ ideas on new play equipment and the park design. Attendees are also invited to share their talent with the community during open mic, but they can also bring a relic that survived the fire and tell its story.
The recovery efforts of the two towns remains ongoing after the fire destroyed both of them on Sept. 7, 2020. The fire burned more than 15,000 acres and 104 homes.
Donors and organizations have come together to assist and help unite the residents of Malden and Pine City in the past two years.
In the time since the fire, the community's built a temporary fire station in Malden.
The following list has some of the latest updates to the towns since the fire:
- A new temporary fire station and 24 new homes
- The new Malden Palouse-to-Cascades Trailhead is currently under construction and will be completed by early fall.
- The wildfire clean-up phase is complete, with one more visit this fall for tree removal by Team Rubicon. The Leshay Goats from Cheney spent two months eating unwanted foliage to help create defensible space.
- The installation of fiber-optic internet. A cell tower is also in the construction phase. An electronic reader board will soon be installed to help tell residents about urgent and important information.