SPOKANE, Wash – In the midst of tragedy Friday night in Spokane, there was baseball. And in the middle of the Spokane Indians baseball game, a moment fans there will not soon forget.After the third inning, PA announcer Chadron Hazelbaker directed fans to special guests on the field: members of California Incident Management Team 7, who are in town managing the three massive wildfires that have burned thousands of acres and hundreds of homes.Hazelbaker then read this letter written by the incident management team to the Spokane community:On behalf of California Interagency Incident Management Team 7, Incident Commanders Tom Clemo, John Lucas, and Nic Elmquist, and all the firefighters and emergency personnel assigned to the Spokane area fires, we want to say one simple but heartfelt thing tonight:
Thank you, Spokane.
We came here to help during your time of need, to protect your communities, your homes, and the places you love. but from the moment we arrived, this community turned around and took care of us, too.
The donations, meals, supplies, handwritten notes, signs of support, and countless words of encouragement have meant more than we can adequately express. From businesses and organizations to families, children, and neighbors, the communities throughout the Spokane area welcomed our firefighters and our team with extraordinary kindness and generosity.
These have been long days and nights, and there is still important work ahead. but through it all, we have witnessed the strength of this community firsthand. Neighbors helping neighbors. strangers stepping forward to help people they have never met. An entire region coming together when it mattered most.
We responded to Spokane to serve you in your time of need. what we did not expect was how much Spokane would give back to us.
it has been an honor and a privilege to serve alongside this community.
With sincere gratitude from California Interagency Incident Management Team 7 and every firefighter and responder assigned to the Spokane area fires—thank you for welcoming us, supporting us, and reminding us what community truly means.
Long after our assignment here is over and we return home, a piece of Spokane will forever live in the hearts of team 7.The Indians presented the team with jerseys and they left the field to the sound of a community, thanking them right back for all they’ve done.Then, the team returned to the fire camp just a few hundred yards away at the Spokane Fairgrounds, where nearly 2,000 firefighters are staying while they fight the Spokane fires.
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