Cascadia today: Wildfires devastate Spokane + ruling could free hundreds from Tacoma ICE camp + First Nation restores land with native plants
Thanks to all who turned out for Cascadia Democratic Action's water bottle and N-95 mask drive in Seattle this weekend. We raised more than $100 and received donations of more than 1,000 masks – which we'll be working on distributing in the next week as wildfire smoke blankets much of Cascadia. Your help has been critical, and there's still time to donate money online. We take care of neighbors here in Cascadia, thank you.
600 homes destroyed as wildfires hit Spokane hard
More than 600 homes were destroyed and over 60,000 people evacuated as wildfires and high winds hit the city of Spokane hard over the weekend, the AP reports. The Spokesman Review describes north Spokane as looking like a "war zone" after the Old Trail fire jumped the Spokane river and destroyed numerous homes and other structures. No one has been reported injured or missing, and governor Bob Ferguson traveled to Washington's second largest city over the weekend and also made a call to Donald Trump informing him of the scope of the disaster and no doubt working to ensure the regime doesn't restrict disaster funds as it did in Oregon last week.
Andrew Engelson
How to help Spokane
Want to help those affected? The City of Spokane has launched a wildfire relief fund. In addition, the Innovia Foundation, which supports community efforts in northern Idaho and Eastern Washington, is coordinating a wildfire response fund. Second Harvest Inland Northwest is accepting non-perishable food donations today, Mon Aug. 3 from 8 am to 4 pm at 1234 E Front Ave. Or make an online donation to Second Harvest here.
Court ruling may release many from Tacoma ICE camp
The AP reports that late last week the Ninth Circuit court of appeals ruled that the Trump regime cannot hold immigrants without offering them bond. According to the Seattle Times, this could mean release for hundreds of immigrants currently being held at the ICE camp in Tacoma known as the Northwest Detention Center. The case, filed by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, asserts that existing law establishes that immigrants without documentation but no criminal record are entitled to a bond hearing and release while their case is heard.
Feds seek to bulldoze Blue Mountains forests
Columbia Insight takes a deep dive into the Trump regime's plan to open 5 million acres of the Blue Mountains in Oregon and Washington to logging, end restrictions on old-growth cutting, and its plans to "bulldoze" Oregon's largest ecoregion with clear-cutting. The plan aims to triple logging in the region to 364 million board feet and eliminate protection of 700,000 acres of roadless areas in the Malheur, Wallowa-Whitman and Umatilla forests. Biologists and environmentalists say this could have a huge impact on elk populations, on salmon and trout habitat, and hurt the the region's hunting and fishing opportunities, which contributes $1.7 billion to Oregon's economy.
Nupqu native plant nursery helps repair destroyed lands
The Tyee has a great feature on the Nupqu nursery, British Columbia's largest Indigenous-run native plant nursery, which produces 700,000 plants a year to restore lands injured by logging and mining. The central BC facility, run by the Ktunaxa Nation, grows up to 80 different native species each season.
Thanks for reading. Keep loving and keep fighting. --Andy
