FEMA has denied Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s request for individual federal disaster assistance for firestorm victims in Malden and Pine City.
Avista Utilities Palouse Regional Manager Paul Kimmell provided Pullman Radio News with a letter from FEMA to the governor’s office. The letter informs the governor that his request for individual federal disaster assistance for the Labor Day firestorm in Whitman County has been denied. Most of Malden and Pine City were destroyed in the blaze.
The letter says that “it has been determined that the impact to the individuals and households from this event was not of such severity and magnitude to warrant the designation of individual assistance.” FEMA officials tell the governor that damage to the infrastructure was significant enough for public assistance.