MEDICAL LAKE, Wash. — Recovery continues after a devastating wildfire season in Spokane County. There's no shortage of helping hands in the community, and one local non-profit is doing its part to help home and land owners in Medical Lake.
Volunteers from Team Rubicon spent all day Wednesday cutting down trees and removing debris from properties in Medical Lake. The organization was instrumental to recovery after the Malden Fire. As crews continue to clean up after the Gray Fire, a longtime volunteer is working with the non-profit to make it easier for wildfire survivors to begin to rebuild.
Bill Blair spent his day Wednesday cutting down dead trees and cleaning up fire debris from properties in Medial Lake. However, this isn't the first time Blair has played a part in disaster recovery; he's been traveling the world for the past six years helping communities recover from natural disasters.
Blair said he first decided to get involved in 2017. After retiring from the Army 12 years earlier, he was enjoying a college football game when a video about Team Rubicon took center screen.
"Sat down at halftime and on came an ESPN video about what Team Rubicon was doing to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey," he recalled. "I went, 'Holy moly, I could do that.'"
From that moment, Blair said his life changed.
"Team Rubicon is the best non-profit volunteer organization that I have ever been associated with," he said.
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is also doing its part to help victims of the Gray Fire. For the past month, DNR has given out more than two tons of grass seed to more than 100 home and land owners.
“We're also working on securing seedlings like ponderosa pine for this area that we'll be handing out to landowners as well," said Jessa Lewis, DNR's communications manager.
Grass has already started to grow in places that were completely burnt.
"What I really only want to see come out of any operation, this disaster recovery disaster response is giving that homeowner hope," Blair said.
Team Rubicon is only in Medical Lake for the week since they have to get to other natural disasters, including recovery efforts in Maui. The plan is to be back in this community in the near future.
KREM 2 asked Team Rubicon if they have any plans to assist in areas impacted by the Oregon Road Fire as well. They said they go to places that request their help and at this point, they haven’t received any requests from those areas.
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