SPOKANE, Wash. — The devastating Spokane Complex Fires resulted in hundreds losing their homes. But the damage also extends to those who still have property standing. Multiple homeowners say they returned to flooding.
"We (and other neighbors) did not have two feet of water or one foot of water prior to the fire...we do now," Amy Johnson said.
Or did. It has since been cleared, but the mess is far from resolved. Amy says the water and sewage destruction was discovered in the thick of the fire disaster.
"There were five down this block," she said pointing. "Some of the people over there...had two feet of sewage water."
More than a month in, and she says it's hard to not feel discouraged.
"I just feel tired. And it's not over."
Amy has a fully finished, roughly 13-hundred square foot basement.
"Honestly, it was one of my favorite parts of the house," she said. "We had about four inches of water. They cleaned up the sewage water."
The entire process has been extensive.
"You still have to pull the carpets, you saw the dry wall (taken out)... they have to replace baseboards, fix the drywall, treat the studs," she said. "Paint...new doors. My best guess is there will be 100...or more."
As in approximately $100,000, in total, to get her basement and home back to what it once was. But she says she received a troubling update from insurance.
"(Travelers) told me that $10,000 is what they'll cap me for the basement," she said.
A rep said that was per her policy, and the amount is specific for sewer backup.
In a statement, a rep from Travelers said, "The wildfires caused tremendous devastation across the Spokane community, and supporting our customers through recovery has been our priority. Throughout this process, we’ve worked closely with our customer to ensure she received the full amount available under her homeowners policy, which covered smoke, soot and ash damage to her home and other structures, personal property losses, spoiled refrigerated items, and additional living expenses incurred during the evacuation. Her policy also included a separate sewer backup endorsement, which was paid in full consistent with the policy terms.”
Amy says the damage to her property also includes smoke and residue clean-up from her proximity to total losses. She also had to stay in a hotel for days. For those expenses, she says insurance was helpful.
"My insurance company wants to separate the charges," she said.
She is currently back at home as crews are in and out. She says being home has led to conversations with other property owners who have told her other insurers are paying in full, directly tying the floods to the fires.
"That's one thing about it, you meet your neighbors this way," she said.
It's not lost on Amy how lucky she is that her home didn't burn, but the sting of at least temporarily losing a massive chunk of it, is there.
"I mean think about it, it's half your home."
Amy is hoping this isn't the end of it and has already connected with the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner. They do have a dedicated team of insurance experts ready to take questions and help navigate this process.
We asked a rep from the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner about these type of situations, in general. They said via email, "If (a) home was damaged as a direct result of the Spokane Complex Fire, the consumer's loss should be covered. State law requires home insurance policies to cover against all direct loss by fire, up to the policy limits.
MORE on Washington State Legislature Standard Fire Policies
The rep went on to say, "Direct loss," in the legal sense, means tangible loss inflicted by an accident. If a fire is the start of a causal chain of events, state law is clear that sublimits and exclusions cannot apply. An "indirect loss," for context, would be a consequence of the loss. "Loss of use" coverage (also called Additional Living Expense coverage) would apply here; that provides money for additional expenses incurred if your home is unlivable after a fire, for example. In a situation like this, (a homeowner) could also apply efficient proximate cause doctrine, which is established case law in Washington. It essentially states any covered loss at the beginning of the causal chain requires coverage, even if there's an exclusion somewhere in that chain of events. The basic idea in this scenario would be the phrase 'If not for the fire…' And if not for the fire, the sewage flooding wouldn't have occurred."
"I would remind anyone working through an insurance claim after the fires to document every communication with their insurance company and keep every one of their related receipts. If they're having issues with their claim, our Consumer Protection team is available to help, both online at insurance.wa.gov or by phone at 1-800-562-6900. Our office is also hosting workshops for wildfire survivors on the second Monday of each month. We have one coming up on Monday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m. at Spokane Falls Community College."
