After a devasting fire leveled most of Malden, the community finds strength in what’s left: unity.
By Laura Furr Mericas
The Town of Malden might consider changing its name to Phoenix, because it literally is rising from the ashes.
More than 80 percent of all buildings and homes in the rural Whitman County town were destroyed on September 7, 2020, during the Babb Road Fire, which burned more than 15,000 acres. According to Mayor Dan Harwood, the fire’s impact wasn’t
completely devastating, though. All of Malden’s 200-some residents survived, as did its small community church. And today, the residents and government are working closer together than ever before to create a community they actively want to
be a part of.
“We are the newest town in the state of Washington,” Harwood says. “We were basically destroyed, so we interact with our citizens and we ask them, ‘What do we want our town to be?’”
The answer is: better than it was. And Malden’s making progress. In addition to the 23 new homes built (plus the construction of a new fire station, which has been delayed due to material shortages), the council, with community input, is in the
process of installing a high-speed fiber-optic network, improving the municipal water system, and funding an entirely new sewer system. Support for the development of tourism and recreational hiking trails has been approved, and funds are now available
for a new food bank, library, and post office. A new community center is slated to break ground this summer.
Harwood said that fostering open communication post-disaster has been key to the town’s recovery, with the help of technology. Since the fire, in addition to live-streaming council meetings on Facebook, the town posts videos on YouTube for those
who weren’t able to tune in. Residents often reach out via the town’s email and active voice-recording platform, and all local leaders have made their phone numbers public online;
Harwood’s cell number is even listed on the town’s website for after-hours emergencies.
“We may not always agree with them, but everyone gets the chance to talk and interact with us,” the mayor says. Because rebuilding will require an enormous investment, getting citizen input is critical, as is forging funding partnerships.
We’re not doing this alone. We leap, and we will go out and ask for assistance anytime because our citizens deserve that.
“We’re not doing this alone,” Harwood adds. “We leap, and we will go out and ask for assistance anytime because our citizens deserve that.”
To date, Malden has been able to secure $900,000 from the state Department of Commerce for its new fire station, plus an additional $30,000 to add upgrades, including a gazebo and a disc golf course, to its city park. The Pine Creek Community Restoration
Long-Term Recovery Organization, United Way of Whitman County, Catholic Charities Eastern Washington, and Innovia helped the town apply for and receive a $750,000 grant from the American Red Cross to build new homes. In February 2021, FEMA awarded
funding to rebuild public buildings. Other charitable organizations and individuals have stepped up, too.
“Malden couldn’t have done this on our own. We would have dried up and blown away,” Harwood says. “But we had citizens who wanted it, who encouraged our government to go forward.”
For more information: maldenwaorg.wordpress.com