WHITE SWAN, Wash.- Four months, 20 homes and over 3,000 acres after the Slide Ranch Fire ripped through White Swan, families are beginning a new chapter as they prepare for their new homes.
On June 22, Level 2 (GET SET) and Level 3 (GO NOW) evacuations pushed White Swan residents out of their homes. The fire in the heart of the city went on to burn for 17 days. 20 families left their home and came back to ash.
“”[My daughter] goes, ‘That’s gone, Mom.'” said Deanna Williams the day after the fire started. “I was like ‘No, it’s not. You can’t see the house for here because that big bush was still there.’ She goes ‘It’s gone.”
As news of the devastation spread through the community, the White Swan Community Center opened their doors to the victims. In the short term, volunteers Donald Isadore and Carol Sutterlict round the troops.
Friends and family around White Swan donated anything they could to help the victims. Clothes, meals and medicine collected at the community center made its way to every victim, even those who found hotels and rooms miles away.
The victims of the fire say those donations were lifesaving.
“When the fire first broke out, my husband and I, we were lost,” says Jolena Pillequotx, who lost her and her parents’ home in the fire. “We didn’t know where to turn to, we didn’t know who to contact-it meant a lot to me because they did reach out. They didn’t have to.”
The community center got so many donations, it asked people to stop donating clothes. A 1,000-pound donation of ground beef from Washington Beef set up meals for victims and volunteers for weeks.
Four months after the immediate response, the families are ready to move into new homes. The community center still supporting them with new donations.
“It’s been heartfelt with all the generous donations received from absolutely everywhere,” says Isadore.
In the four months since the fire, donations of furniture and housewares have been set aside in storage, waiting for the families to begin their new chapter.
Neither Isadore nor the victims expected how much support would flow into White Swan.
“I was really surprised when Donald started telling me, ‘If there’s anything you need, let me know,'” says Pillequotx. “‘Because tribes are asking, organizations are asking.'”
According to the community center, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe sent countless boxes of brand-new clothes, appliances and donations to get the families situated. Pillequotx recalls tribes and nations reaching out included many extending beyond state lines
“This is probably one of the smallest communities on the reservation, but it was wonderful to hear the impact that these tribes wanted to share with us,” she says.
After picking up donations on October 22, many victims stayed back to thank the volunteers who put everything together.
Isadore says all the work is just what you do for family.
“A majority of us that live out here are related, we’re family,” he says. “It brings the closeness back together. And to remind our community here in White Swan, we’re here for one another and we look out for our own.”
Most victims including Pillequotx had to move out of the White Swan area. Her family will be setting up down Fort Road in Toppenish.
With the support of their family and community, the victims of the Slide Ranch Fire are ready to move forward.
“As a community, we’re trying to stand strong,” says Pillequotx. “We’re going to try to rebuild. That’s all we can do. So, I just want to say thank you to Donald. Thank you to Carol. All the volunteers. It’s been really great to see all of the help.”
The families that lost their home in the fire took their pick of donations on Tuesday. The community center says anything left over will be available for the rest of White Swan as a thank you for their support.
