SPOKANE, Wash. — Fire officials say the Spokane wildfires are getting closer to 100% containment: The Fairview Fire is 97% contained, Autumn Lane at 89%, and Old Trails at 73%.
The evacuation orders have been lifted, which means families are now able to get back to their homes, or what is left of them.
Rifle Club Road is among the hardest hit neighborhoods from the Old Trails fire. Tens of dozens of homes are burned to the ground with little to nothing left in the rubble.
Clint, Mendi, and Haley Juntunen live in that neighborhood. Their home is nothing but a pile of ash, even though their front lawn is still intact and completely green.
Clint said he is a former Spokane firefighter, only retired a month ago. When the evacuation orders started coming in, he told KIRO 7 that his initial plan was to stay.
“They were going to evacuate, I was going to stay,” Clint said. “That’s what firefighters do; we don’t run from the fire. We stay.”
Haley tells us she grabbed her laundry basket of clothes, her parents grabbed important documents and their small safe, and they all left within minutes, including her dad.
Clint said he eventually left when he went outside and saw the fire coming.
“We could hear the fire right there. I could see the glow behind the houses, and I knew what it was. I’ve seen it before. I said, ‘I’m not staying; it’s just not worth my life,’” Clint said. “It sounds like a freight train; it’s unbelievable. You could feel the heat even from here in those back trees. It’s a scary sound.”
We found the family laughing, joking, and smiling in front of their torched home. They said they have been digging for days to find any mementos, but only ceramic and metal survived.
Even after losing everything, the family said their faith in God is what is keeping them afloat.
“God is good. If I had a roof, I’d scream it from my roof,” Haley said.
She tells us that when she and her boyfriend first came back to see the neighborhood, it was a shock.
“When I was driving through, I only knew where I was by the street; otherwise, I’m lost. Like, this isn’t where I live,” Haley said.
She tells us they have found a few pictures, a knife from her aunt, a ceramic cross, some Pokémon trading cards, and more after sifting through the rubble, but her dad said he is missing one major thing: the family’s home videos.
He tells us even being a firefighter for 30 years, he still wasn’t prepared for a fire like this.
“My kids grew up listening to me saying change your smoke alarm batteries every six months, don’t leave a candle burning, don’t leave stuff on the stove, but I never made a list of what I needed if we had an evacuation like this,” Clint said.
He tells us his one message to people is to make a list of what you would want or need if you only had ten minutes to leave your home forever. He tells us putting it on the fridge, and knowing where those items are, could make a huge difference later on.
Haley tells us she has lived in this house her entire life. Today she is not only grieving her home, but many of her neighbor’s homes as well.
“I lived in these houses, not only my house, but I slept at my neighbor’s house countless times; that was my best friend’s house for years; I nannied for the people across the street and slept on their couch,” Haley said. “It’s just, where is it? All those memories are just memories now.”
The Juntunen family tells us they have been offered countless meals, drinks, places to stay, donations, and more over the past week. They say the help and support has been overwhelming, but tell us even when they have so little, they hope to pay it forward.
They have a GoFundMe set up if you would like to help their recovery journey.
When asked what their plan forward is, Clint told us they have no doubt everything will be okay.
“Stick together, pray a lot, count our blessings, and we will rebuild,” Clint said. “That’s our plan right now.”