Washington state applied for federal wildfire-prevention money more than a year before the Old Trails Fire ever ignited.
Washington state could not sign as written.
Deputy Chief Brett Anderson said the department's project was specifically designed to blunt wildfire risk in the built-up neighborhoods that ring the city, the same neighborhoods where the Old Trails Fire ultimately destroyed hundreds of homes.
When the Old Trails, Autumn Lane and Fairview fires ignited on Aug.
The Spokane Conservation District's unstarted fuel-reduction work and the fire department's unstarted urban-interface project were both sited in and around the neighborhoods Old Trails eventually reached.
USDA froze $15 million in wildfire-prevention grants for Spokane-area communities over new DEI and immigration compliance terms. The money was released in July. The Old Trails Fire started Aug. 4.