MALDEN, Wash. (AP) — Nearly three months after a wildfire destroyed 80% of the homes in Malden, Washington, residents are still waiting for aid from the federal government.
The Babb Fire ravaged the Whitman County towns of Malden and neighboring Pine City on Sept. 7. Gov. Inslee asked President Trump to declare the fire a major disaster.
That designation would send millions in aid from the FEMA to provide temporary housing and help residents rebuild, but Scott Hokonson, a Malden town council member who lost his home in the fire, said many Malden and Pine City residents were already struggling financially and did not have insurance.