About 90% of the homes and structures in the rural town of Malden, Wash., are estimated to be destroyed by a fire, a local leader says.

“Our town is at best estimate 90% destroyed,” Scott Hokonson, town council member, told the Capital Press. “We’ve lost every municipal building. We’ve lost 90% of our homes and outbuildings. We may have  — may —  15 houses left. Out of those 15, five may have had damage that would make them uninhabitable.”

According to the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office, Malden’s fire station, post office, city hall/library and other prominent buildings were “completely burned to the ground.”

“The town is probably more of a complete loss until it’s rebuilt,” Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers told the Capital Press. He estimated 70 to 80 homes were “completely destroyed.”

So far, no deaths have been reported. The county is following up on every call regarding relatives or neighbors who have not yet been reached, he said.

“So far we’ve been able to track everyone down,” he said. “We’re hoping that trend continues.”

Anyone who may be concerned about a friend, family member or loved one who has not been accounted for should contact the sheriff’s office at 509-397-6266 to make a report.

A rural railroad town established in 1909, Malden has a population of roughly 250 people.

“I guess normally you’d say in something like this, ‘We need to pick up the pieces,'” Hokonson said. “We don’t have any pieces to pick up right now. The houses that were burned were vaporized. It is a firestorm that’s coming through at 50 miles an hour. We had minutes to get as many people out as possible. We hope we got all of them out. We don’t know yet.”

Hokonson said the town council is made up of volunteers. He is a full-time adult student studying social services at Eastern Washington University. He lost his home entirely, he said.

“Everybody’s fine in my household, but we had no time,” he said. “I had time to knock on peoples’ doors, I didn’t have time to grab anything.”

The town is coordinating with the state and county to mount a response.

“We are sitting at a park bench because we don’t have any buildings,” Hokonson said. “We still have smoldering ruins, we still have spot fires. We hope the wind doesn’t pick up and reignite.”

A tent in the town park is slated to be the response center, Hokonson said.

“If people need help from here for any reason, with anything, we will help them with that,” he said. 

To the west, the town of Pine City has a population of roughly 100, also sustained “massive damage,” Hokonson said. 

“At the moment, it’s still numb shock,” he said. “Whatever the first stage of grief is, that’s where we’re at.”

Whitman County commissioners declared a state of emergency the morning of Sept. 8.

Fire crews were still monitoring and fighting in some areas, but the winds had calmed down, said Art Swannack, Whitman County commissioner and a Lamont, Wash., rancher. Control efforts will include monitoring burning stumps and trees and addressing damaged infrastructure, including burned power poles, he said.

Total size of the fire was not yet confirmed, Swannack said. An estimated 85 homes were lost in the county, and several hundred cars and likely some farm equipment.

“The fire started in farm land to the east over towards the Rosalia/Plaza area,” Swannack said. “Where the fire went through was a combination of ag land, town and some light forested areas.”

The commissioners will tour the area to see what’s needed, he said.

Myers estimated the fire reached about 10,000 acres in size.

“It was probably a mile wide and at least 10 to 15 miles long by the end of the day yesterday,” he said.

The fire was 0% contained as of the morning of Sept. 8, but fire crews were able to get some control, Myers said.

“With as hot and dry as it is, it’ll be several days before it’s mopped up,” Myers said.

According to the sheriff’s office, the Malden Fire was reported at noon Sept. 7, fueled by “extremely high winds, standing timber and dry fields.” It is believe to have originated on Babbs Road in Spokane County.

Deputies began the evacuation process, going door to door and making announcements on vehicle PA systems, notifying residents of the fire and the potential danger to life and property.

Law enforcement and emergency medical services also responded to several fires at 11 a.m, Sept. 7 around Colfax.

“We had three fires simultaneously going on in the county, so … we were leaning on every fire agency in the county as well as many from outside,” Myers said.

Cause of the fires is under investigation. So far, Myers doesn’t think they are related.

“It just happened to be a super-hot, windy day (and) there’s a lot of activity in the area, with farming and roads,” he said. “All it would have taken was a spark, and with as much fuel as there was on the ground and a 40- to 50-mph  wind, it was an explosion, basically.”

Anyone affected or displaced is urged to contact the American Red Cross for assistance with lodging, food and other necessities. The American Red Cross can be reached at 509-670-5331.

Washington saw 58 new wildfire starts in 24 hours, with nine large fires, Hilary Franz, commissioner for public lands for the state Department of Natural Resources, said on Twitter.

The Cold Springs Fire, estimated to be roughly 140,000 acres with 0% contained, started at 9:45 p.m. Sept. 6 near Omak. The fire spread quickly due to strong winds and low relative humidity, according to InciWeb, the incident information system. 

Local fire crews responded and provided point protection. Multiple structures have been lost. Approximately 200 firefighters responded. No injuries have been reported.

Level 3 evacuations and numerous road closures are in effect. The cause is under investigation.

Highway 97 was closed between Omak and Brewster. Current evacuation orders and road closures can be found at www.okanogandem.org. Residents can call 509-670-5331 for Red Cross assistance. The Okanogan Couty Fairgrounds is available for livestock.

“We’re really focusing on structural protection, making sure we have that all buttoned up, and they’ll continue to work on the line to start and hold containment lines that they have in place so far,” Don Malone, spokesman for Northeast Washington Interagency Type 3 IMT Team 2, told the Capital Press.

Outside resources are beginning to transition in to relieve local resources that have been on the fire for an extended period of time, Malone said.

With several different fires around the region, resources are a little tougher to get, Malone said.

“Yesterday it was a little bit windy out there, which caused the rapid spread of this fire,” he said. 

The Aug. 8 forecast called for weather in the mid to upper 70s, and winds down to 2 to 5 mph, which would offer crews some relief, Malone said. Air support was ordered.

Malone asked residents to stay out of affected areas.

“A pretty potent cold front” moved into the area Sept. 7, moving southwest, causing strong winds,  said Charlotte Dewey, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Spokane.

Dewey expects a warming trend in the next few days, back up to at or above seasonal average in the low to mid-80s. Some areas could drop into freezing conditions for a few evenings.

Light winds and cooler overnight temperatures should increase humidity, providing conditions that make controlling the fires easier, Dewey said.

No rain is in the forecast for the next 10 days, Myers noted.

“The last thing you want is the winds to pick up and still have hot spots,” he said.

Hokonson and Swannack both praised the Whitman County sheriff’s office for their response, as well as firefighters and farmers who worked to control the fire.

“There was a lot of people who put effort in there, and (we) really feel for all the citizens who lost their houses, farm buildings and other stuff,” Swannack said. “It just hurts, especially when you’re neighbors and you know them.”