SPECIAL FIRE UPDATE

Sunday, August 20, 2023

From the President

Jean Richardson

League Outreach: Spokane Fires

Dear Members of the LWV Spokane Area,

Whether you are at home or off on a summer adventure, you are likely aware of the fires in our area this weekend as our situation made national news this morning. Perhaps you have been frustrated, as I have, at not getting up-to-date information.

You may already be well aware of coverage by local news outlets on television, Facebook, and the web. There are also public sources and phone apps that can help you stay in touch with the situation. (Be advised that not all devices are configured to access the resources shared below.)

Watch Duty provides frequent, targeted updates as the situation with the existing fires changes and new fires emerge. https://app.watchduty.org/ 

WSDOT has a good website and phone app that shows what's happening on the roads as well as providing links to webcams. https://wsdot.wa.gov/ 

The Federal Emergency Management Admininstration has a phone app to help you connect with resources and receive alerts. Search on FEMA in the Playstore on Android or App Store on Apple devices.

On Twitter, Washington State Department of Natural Resources has a specific account to follow for wildfire updates, @WaDNR_fire, @wsdot, and hashtags (for following discussions-use the Search feature in Twitter) #WaWILDFIRE, #GreyFire, #GrayFire can also help you connect with discussions on our situation in the Twitterverse. Note: If you go to dnr.wa.gov and scroll to the bottom of the screen, there is a box that is a link to their Fire Twitter page on the web.

The following Facebook pages for the US National Weather Service and Spokane County Emergency Service for the fire provide access to information and a platform for citizens to comment on what they are seeing and experiencing:
NWS — https://www.facebook.com/NWSSpokane?mibextid=ZbWKwL
SCES — https://www.facebook.com/GEGEmergencyMgt?mibextid=ZbWKwL

While the following is an Oregon website it does provide detailed information on fires across much of the Pacific Northwest, including all of Washington. https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/6329d5e4e13748b9b9f7f33f06a3c376/

If you are concerned about people at Eastern State Hospital, you can get information here: https://www.dshs.wa.gov/alert/gray-fire-update

Lastly, a reminder. We have a few weeks to go before our first program of the year on September 12th at 5:00 p.m. at Shadle Library. We look forward to welcoming you there and having a good conversation.

Please feel free to reach out to LWVSALeadership [at] gmail.com if you are seeking assistance you have not found elsewhere or even if a bit of a chat would help you navigate the current situation with greater ease.

Until then, reach out, hold hands, and we'll get through this rough time to come back fighting for our democracy and the vote.

* Jean