Note: The following e-newsletter was sent to Sen. Christian’s subscribers Aug. 7, 2026. To subscribe to Sen. Christian’s e-newsletters, click here. 

Autumn Lane Fire, Aug. 3. More than 900 structures have burned since fires began last Saturday. Credit: Spokane Valley Fire Department

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This has been a horrific week for Spokane County as fire on an unimaginable scale swept through entire neighborhoods and left them in ashes. Thousands have been left homeless and thousands more await the all-clear to return to their homes. Spokane hasn’t seen a fire like this one since 1889, and it’s not over yet.

The scenes of the last few days will stay with us forever. Terrified homeowners filling their cars with what possessions they can carry. Skies filled with smoke. Firefighters on the front lines in a desperate fight to keep flames from advancing. Houses burned so thoroughly that only chimneys and foundations are left. We are reminded how small we are in the face of natural forces and how little we can really do when a wall of flame turns in our direction, except to run.

Aftermath of Autumn Lane Fire. Credit: Spokane Valley Fire Department

And yet – there are other things we can see that tell a different story, about the resilience of our community and our willingness to come together in a time of tragedy. I had the opportunity to tour the command center when it was located at Mt. Spokane High School earlier this week and what I saw there was inspiring. Not just the hundreds of firefighters from across the West who have joined us in our fight but also the volunteers and the local businesses who have stepped up to make sure our forces have everything they need. Food, water, even boots. One local boot company, for instance, distributed replacement boots, free of charge, to firefighters who needed them – a generous and timely offer that many were glad to accept.

At the Mt. Spokane High School command center, volunteers distributed water and donated goods to firefighters.

This outpouring of support went beyond first responders. Local hoteliers reduced their rates for those needing shelter from the fires. Charity benefits for fire relief are already being planned. The first response of so many people has been to ask, “what can we do to help,” and in the face of a disaster like this one, it is enough to bring a lump to the throat.

This tragedy affects all of us in a personal way. Though damage is on the north end of the county, we all know someone who has been forced to evacuate or who has lost a home. Services for those displaced by fire are being coordinated from a community disaster resource center at Shadle Park High School, and many non-profits, government agencies and insurers are set up there and ready to help.

Next week, elected officials are planning to hold public meetings to provide information about fire relief services and hear from the people about their needs. Dates and times will be announced soon.

We’ll be dealing with the fire and its aftermath for some time to come. The fires are only partially contained and there is much to be done to ensure smoldering embers do not reignite. On the government level, we are coordinating the efforts of multiple firefighting agencies and deploying the air fleet we have put on standby during fire season. Where the Legislature is concerned, I think all of us are relieved we restored firefighting funding this year, and I am sure we will be considering additional measures for fire relief in the coming legislative session.

For now, let us continue to support the work of the firefighters on the front lines, and assist the thousands who have been displaced by these terrible fires. Tragedies often bring out the best in us, and that is the spirit we are seeing today as Spokane County steps up to this challenge.

At the command center at Mt. Spokane High School. Fire operations have since been moved to the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds.

Emergency order keeps insurance in place

The Washington Office of Insurance Commissioner has adopted rules to ensure property and auto insurance remains in place amid chaotic conditions in Spokane County and other areas hit by wildfire. This emergency order provides 45-day grace periods for premium payments in fire zones and waives all late fees and reinstatement fees. For now, insurers are directed not to cancel policies for nonpayment. For more information, click here.

In the news:

Fired superintendent says DCYF set him up to fail at troubled youth facility

This story from KING-5 TV news tells of the state’s disastrous efforts to bring order to the state’s overcrowded juvenile justice facilities. A new wing for juveniles at the state’s Stafford Creek prison hasn’t improved matters, and has merely transferred problems from the beleaguered Green Hill School in Centralia. As I point out in this story, the root cause of the problem is a state policy that keeps juvenile offenders in the juvenile system through age 25, rather than transferring them to the adult prison system. This means our juvenile facilities are dominated by older and more violent offenders. Unfortunately, many in Olympia are unwilling to acknowledge the policy has created a crisis.

By Chris Ingalls

ABERDEEN, Wash. — Ken Rochelle spends most of his days now in a small Thurston County hotel room, surrounded by boxes of his belongings and, tucked among them, more heart medication than he’s ever needed.

“I never had that much heart medicine,” Rochelle said, dumping the bottles onto the bed. “I never had to deal with that. I’ve had complications before. But here, trying to do the job you have to do became, like, overwhelming.”

Eight months ago, Rochelle was the man Washington’s Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) was counting on to fix one of the state’s most troubled institutions. Today he’s unemployed, and DCYF is at the center of a legislative audit describing the state’s juvenile detention system as overcrowded, understaffed and dangerous.

A bold plan, and the man chosen to run it

DCYF opened Harbor Heights last year as the centerpiece of a $25 million effort to ease overcrowding and violence in the state’s youth detention system. The facility occupies a former adult cell block at Stafford Creek Corrections Center outside Aberdeen, renovated to hold up to 46 young offenders.

Rochelle, who came to Washington with more than 25 years of experience in juvenile services management, was hired to run it. In an earlier interview, he described his approach to the young people in his care.

“We build a cohort of like family atmosphere, because a lot of them didn’t have family,” Rochelle said at the time, as he led VIPs and members of the media on tours of the new Harbor Heights before it opened in mid-2025.

Now, Rochelle says the department that recruited him made him the fall guy for problems it created.

To continue reading, click here.