The Spokane Complex Fires changed the way many of us experienced our community.
For Excelsior Wellness, the fires directly impacted our Indian Trail location and temporarily changed how we served the people who rely on us. Under Level 3 evacuation orders, our team had to adapt quickly. What became clear in those days was that continuing to care for our community did not always mean doing things the way we normally do them.
It meant finding another way.
And we did that together.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center opened its doors so our summer camp youth could continue gathering safely while our buildings on Indian Trail were evacuated. The center also provided meals and snacks, helping create a sense of stability during an uncertain time. Meals on Wheels Spokane provided lunches for our young adults while they were displaced.
At the same time, our grounds became a place where other organizations could do their work. Avista Utilities used our parking lot as a recovery hub while more than 30 trucks deployed further North on Indian Trail and into other impacted neighborhoods to help restore power and infrastructure.
At the Shadle Park High School Disaster Recovery Hub, our team helped families connect with resources as they navigated displacement, the loss of their homes, insurance questions, evacuation orders, and the many challenges that follow a disaster.
We partnered with Molina Healthcare to deploy its mobile clinic to the Yoke’s Fresh Market on Indian Trail, providing primary and urgent care and helping community members replace medications lost or left behind during the fires.
Then came another kind of response: neighbors helping neighbors.
Through our partnership with Second Harvest, we launched the Community Care Hub and activated our Community Care Center to provide food, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, pet food, and other essential items. Charlie’s Produce stepped forward with additional donations after learning about the effort. Community members brought donations of their own.
The response continued beyond the immediate emergency. Through Coordinated Care’s Free Dental and Vision Screening event at The Zone, our team helped assemble produce bags while families accessed dental and vision screenings, prescription glasses, fluoride treatments, and back-to-school resources.
Each partnership met a different need. But together, they created something larger: a network of care.
The fires reminded us that community resilience is not built by one organization or one response. It is built through relationships and the willingness to open a door, share a resource, bring a meal, provide care, or simply stand beside someone when they need support.
For many of our neighbors, recovery will take much longer than the emergency itself. We recognize the profound loss experienced by those who lost their homes, belongings, stability, and sense of safety.
We are grateful to everyone who helped us continue serving our community during a difficult time. These partnerships showed us what is possible when we move toward one another.
When we show up for each other, we create more than a response. We create community.
To explore a partnership with Excelsior Wellness, contact our Advancement Team: Advancement.Team@excelsiorwellness.org