Burned vehicles removed from Malden fire area

MALDEN – More than 150 derelict and burned-out vehicles have been removed from the fire-ravaged area in the month since the Sept. 7 blaze.

“The community’s really worked hard to get those cleaned up,” Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers said.

The Whitman County Sheriff’s Office ran VIN numbers after the fire to get paperwork necessary to have the vehicles declared as junk and begin the removal process.

Myers estimated 150 cars have already been removed and headed to recycling.

Not all the destroyed vehicles will be removed; some people are keeping vehicles that went through the fire, he said.

In addition to the burned-out vehicles, Myers reported there are not a lot of structures left.

Many are just foundations to be torn out before work can start on a new house, he said.

People, who had insurance, have an advantage in the cleanup, he said, as they are able to hire people to have the work done.

Officials are working with uninsured owners to access cleanup and rebuilding resources, he said.