{"id":17189,"date":"2018-02-05T17:28:40","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T01:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/?p=17189"},"modified":"2018-02-05T17:41:20","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T01:41:20","slug":"up-from-the-ashes-funding-achieved-for-the-final-phase-of-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/up-from-the-ashes-funding-achieved-for-the-final-phase-of-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Up from the Ashes: Funding achieved for the FINAL phase of recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
In 2016, young people from Puyallup UMC visited Pateros, Wash. to support the Rebuild effort for their annual mission exposure. They helped Volunteer in Mission teams with clean-up, light construction, and importantly, met with the people of Okanogan County to learn about the lives of those affected by the Washington Wildfires.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

By Gerri Harvill, Stan Norman,<\/strong> and Jim Truitt<\/strong>
\nPhotos by PNW UMVIM, et. al.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Thanks to generous donations and strong partnerships, funding for the final phase of recovery has been identified.<\/strong> We, along with our many partners, now have the financial resources to complete this remarkable recovery. This is a huge step forward.”<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s winter in Okanogan County<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, the Connecticut-sized county in North Central Washington that was devastated by two of its largest wildfires in 2014<\/strong><\/span><\/a> and 2015<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. Winter makes outside work nearly impossible, but while rebuilding of homes for survivors of the wildfires has shifted inside, the countywide wildfire recovery is moving forward rapidly.<\/p>\n

United Methodists have a reputation for being one of the first in<\/strong><\/span> and the last out<\/span><\/strong> when it comes to disasters; the Okanogan Wildfire Recovery is no exception. In 2015 through 2017, 26 UMVIM rebuild teams were deployed 46 times<\/strong><\/span> to the Okanogan to work on houses. Several UMVIM teams are already signed up for the 2018 construction period and more are still needed to complete the work of recovery.<\/p>\n