SPOKANE, Wash. — It's been more than six months since the Gray Fire in Medical Lake destroyed more than 240 homes. Now, homes are starting to be rebuilt and victims are hoping to move forward.
"I have to drive through that area every day to work and from work and it's just, you know, a constant reminder of what happened," Joe David Veliz said.
Veliz and his wife, Destiny, lost their home in the Gray Fire on August 18.
"The people there are in different stages and it's exciting when you you see a lot get cleaned up, and then their foundation, you get excited for them," Destiny said.
They were one of more than two dozen families that joined a town hall with attorneys from Singleton Schreiber, a law firm that specializes in wildfire litigation. The firm got involved with the Gray Fire back in September.
"We have experts that when we suspect that there's been a utility caused wildfire, we have our experts take a look at it and and see what they can confirm," attorney John Lemon said.
Lemon and Steve Hill are the primary attorney's handling the litigation. They said the DNR report that blamed Inland Power and Light for causing the Gray Fire helped them move forward in their process.
"It's evidence or provides information about how to get evidence about who the potential witnesses are. And so it's very helpful," Hill said.
Hill and Lemon say about 60 victims of the Gray Fire have already made claims through litigation. They expect to add another 30 people in the next month.
"We're here to try to answer things to the, to help our clients to the best of our ability, that's the purpose of the of the town hall," Lemon said.
The Veliz family created their own claim with the law firm three weeks ago. Joe David and Destiny hope to get more than just a settlement.
"There's consequences for inland powers responsibility of not following through and they need to need to hold accountable for that," Joe David said.
Hill and Lemon say they're still in their discovery process of litigation and it'll take time.
"We counsel with them that it's a laborious process. But we get there and have faith," Hill said.
It's that faith, that Destiny's holding onto.
"As we're all progressing and getting through, we kind of encourage each other and support each other," Destiny said.
Singleton Schreiber said a trial date is scheduled for Sept. 8, 2025.
Singleton Schreiber said they are not in litigation with the Oregon Road Fire since that fire was not caused by a utility company.
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