Wildfires in the Spokane, Washington area have already burned through more than 8,000 acres, destroyed 700 structures, and forced about 65,000 people to evacuate their homes.
Firefighters from eastern Washington and around the country have been responding to contain the fires since they began on Saturday.
According to a federal incident management team coordinating the response, the fires are currently 0% contained.
According to NBC News, no injuries have been reported in any of the fires, though authorities are still searching for people reported missing.
The Spokane Complex Fires were caused by “a historic weather event,” according to Washington State Senator Maria Cantwell.
Fundraising platform GoFundMe has created a hub page to help people affected by the wildfires in Spokane.
The hub contains verified fundraisers for locals who have created their own GoFundMe pages, as well as nonprofit organizations that are responding in the area. Currently, the two nonprofits listed are The Salvation Army and World Central Kitchen.
The hub provides one simple page for people who want to make a difference to find fundraisers to support.
On the hub, the GoFundMe page reads, “As wildfires burn across the Spokane area, families are facing urgent, immediate needs. The GoFundMe community is coming together to help — donate today to a verified Washington wildfire relief fundraiser and support people as they rebuild and recover. You can also make a tax-deductible donation to GoFundMe.org's Wildfire Relief Fund, which provides direct cash grants to affected households. Our Trust & Safety team is actively verifying fundraisers and will continue updating this page as more become available.”
According to GoFundMe, every fundraiser displayed on GoFundMe hub pages is verified by the platform’s “Trust & Safety experts.”
Donations on GoFundMe are protected by the “GoFundMe Giving Guarantee” — which offers a full refund if something isn’t right. On rare occasions when a GoFundMe fundraiser is found to be fraudulent, misused, or otherwise violates policies, the platform will give donors their money back, no matter where they donated from, for a full year after donating.
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency. In a news conference, he said that a request for immediate Federal Emergency Management Agency support had been made and that another request for recovery funds was underway.
The governor spoke on the phone with President Donald Trump, as well.
“He expressed his support for what the people are going through,” Ferguson said of their conversation.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, firefighters are currently working to contain 102 uncontained large fires across the United States — with more than 29,200 personnel assigned to incidents nationwide.
Featured Image: Courtesy of GoFundMe
