Two dogs missing after home burns

MALDEN - Two dogs are missing and unaccounted for after a blaze destroyed a home and travel trailer Thursday morning, July 20.

Nobody was injured in the blaze at 124 S. Main Street; the cause remained under investigation at press time.

Alysha Galindo resided in the rental home with her two dogs, officials said. The dogs were in cages at the time of the fire and could not be rescued by the neighbors and volunteer firefighters.

As of press time, the dogs remain unaccounted for, Whitman County Fire District No. 7 (Rosalia) officials said.

Malden and Rosalia fire crews were called to the blaze about 11:26 a.m., officials said. Nobody was home when the fire broke out.

The house was fully engulfed in flames by the time fire crews arrived. Flames also spread to property, destroy a camper trailer, as well.

Neighbor Shane Blakeley lives approximately 50 yards from the house and noted that a gust of wind took flames to neighboring land around the house. 

Residents helped put out spot fires carried by shifting winds. 

"People in my yard were squirting water around my house, so they handed me the hose, and I started doing that," Blakeley said. "Thank God the wind was blowing the other way because it started fires in the direction where the wind was blowing."

Blakeley recalled the Sept. 7, 2021, wildfire that burnt nearly 85% of the town.

"There were only 20 homes in the whole town that survived, and this was one of them," he said. "My house even burnt down in the last fire."

Volunteers from Whitman County Fire District No. 2 (St. John), District No. 10 (Oakesdale) and District No. 11 (Steptoe) responded to assist.

Whitman County Assessor's Office records show the 1,408-square-foot home was owned by Mat and Heather Smith of Malden. The assessed value of the home was listed as $21,940.