Gov. Bob Ferguson announced Monday the state was submitting a request to issue a major disaster declaration for Washington’s summer wildfires — including the Spokane Complex fires — saying federal assistance is needed to help thousands of residents recover from $188 million worth of damage.

A state’s assessment found 649 primary residences were destroyed this summer across Spokane, Benton, Stevens and Okanogan counties and the Spokane Tribe of Indians, Ferguson said at a Monday news conference in Spokane. Another four sustained major damage, 15 had minor damage and 2,523 had lower-level damage, usually to the exterior.

Most of the destruction was in Spokane County, where 615 primary residences were destroyed and four more had major damage. More than 65,000 people were evacuated as three fires spread across thousands of acres.

Only about 70% of households included in the state’s assessment were insured, Ferguson said, adding that even for those with coverage, insurance would not fully cover the cost to rebuild for most families.

Spokane resident Adam Morrison described at the Monday news conference the emotional experience of returning to his burned-down home and neighborhood to find “something almost out of a post-apocalyptic movie.”

“I was not prepared for the level of devastation that I was about to see and what my family was about to see,” Morrison said.

Breanne Kamerer, a single mom whose Westgate-area home survived the Old Trails fire but was badly damaged, said she and her four children have not been able to live there since the fire. Their insurance is paying for a temporary rental for three months, she said, but that leaves them unsure where they will go at the end of November if their home is still not safe to live in.

If the declaration is approved, residents in the four counties and the Spokane Tribe can apply to FEMA for individual assistance, including help with temporary housing and home repairs. Ferguson said assistance could reach tens of thousands of dollars for an individual household, though how much someone receives depends on their circumstances.

Ferguson said the state estimates that individual assistance could total more than $11 billion.

FEMA assistance is generally aimed at people who are uninsured or underinsured, state emergency management officials said. FEMA also considers factors including household income and existing insurance coverage, and primarily looks at damage to primary residences rather than second homes. Officials urged everyone affected to apply if the declaration is approved, even if they are unsure whether they qualify.

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said local philanthropic funds are also being used to fill gaps left after insurance and government aid. The city’s Home Fund has raised more than $1 million, she said, while an Innovia Foundation regional fund has raised several times that amount.

The fires also caused damage beyond individual homes. Power, communications, water systems, court operations and other municipal services were disrupted. At least 13 homes flooded with sewage after a water-system failure. Two adult family homes were destroyed, and more than 1,900 healthcare workers were displaced or evacuated.

On the Spokane Indian Reservation, nearly 5,000 acres burned and seven homes were lost, Spokane Tribal Business Council Secretary Monica Tanasket said. Only two of those seven homes were insured.

Outside Spokane County, more than 300,000 acres burned across multiple fires in Okanogan County, where 12 primary residences were destroyed. In Stevens County, more than 19,000 acres burned and 14 primary residences were destroyed. Roughly 40,000 acres burned in Benton County, where one home was destroyed and fires threatened farmland, fencing, utilities and transportation routes.

The state is separately asking FEMA for public assistance to help cover debris removal and emergency response costs, including door-to-door evacuations. The request covers 11 counties — Asotin, Chelan, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, Okanogan, Spokane, Stevens, Whitman and Yakima — and the state estimates eligible costs at more than $117 million.

There is no set timeline for a decision. Ferguson said Washington waited about seven weeks for approval of a major disaster declaration after the state’s historic flooding in December, but said he hoped an approval might come sooner in this case.

U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, said he was “very confident” Washington would receive federal support after speaking with President Donald Trump and other senior officials in Washington, D.C., about the fires and the state’s request.

Ferguson said the Trump administration had already been helpful in the response, including quickly approving an emergency declaration that opened shorter-term federal resources. But he called the major disaster declaration the most significant federal request the state has made.

“There’s been a historic disaster here across multiple counties. That’s not complicated,” Ferguson said. “What we need right now is the federal government to move very, very, very quickly and grant what is a comprehensive request that is detailed and undeniable in terms of the scope of the harm.”

_____

© 2026 The Seattle Times. Visit www.seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.