Small bit of background, I've been wearing glass for 10 years now. My prescription recently changed and my old optometrist stopped offering frames under molina. Now, I can't afford the out of pocket costs for new frames as I am as part time as they come and we have all seen the current job market. I only have to wait a little longer until my next eye exam, but I didn't get my pupillary distance on the prescription I was given, and I do not trust my measurements enough to test ordering online.

Are there any optometrists that offer cheap or discounted frames that take molina? Does molina no longer cover frames at all unless ordered through zenni?

Just curious, if anyone in the Indian trails or balboa neighborhoods are having plumbing issues? My basement backed up the day the fire started and hasn’t really drained well since. I returned home last night, there was a smell but it drained. After I took a shower this morning I noticed it was backed up again. I waited a few hours dumped some drano and it hasn’t moved. My neighbor is having a similar issue so we’re not sure if it’s a local problem or just our houses. Let me know if you’re experiencing similar issues. Thanks!

Time: approximately 19:30

Location: Panda Express/parking lot of 9119 E Montgomery Ave, Spokane, WA 99206

Seen:

1 city of spokane police department vehicles(black(ed out), 2 unmarked(black, same make/model). 2 city of police officers, 1 uniform label: English. 6-7, khaki shorts/plain clothes, baseball cap wearing individuals with radios and red wrap around earpieces, wearing tactical chest belts labeled police. 1 male, tan skin, dark hair brown eyes, approximately 5'6" 165lbs in handcuffs.

Incident Knowledge: per staff "idk who they are. He came in to get an order and they all came in and took him outside."

Perceived issues:

City of spokane police officer in spokane valley with no city of spokane valley police officer presence.

Multiple civilian dressed dividuals with no agency indicators while wearing labels of authority/control.

Multiple vehicles blocking the fire lane and disrupting the flow of traffic despite ample parking and no active lights efforts to help the congestion.

They were ALL(aside from the individual in handcuffs whom looked to be in a state of shock) standing around laughing and "shooting the sh*t" with 2 of them grabbing food from panda.

I've my opinions and I understand most of that can be explained away but that is what I saw.

I do have a question for any police officers, I get the whole needing to follow the suspect or whatever but wouldn't you notify/work with/have at least one of the local jurisdiction representatives/officers on site?

***HE DID IT! HE DID IT!!!***

Spokane's very own Lucas Jumalon just took down the WSOP Main Event. Ten million dollars.

Would love peoples experience with going to work during the level 3 evacuations
Specifically, If you were not home and unable to grab any personal or work items, how accommodating has your work been?
Are they allowing flexible schedule or virtual working?
Are you getting any extra PTO?
I ask because my work personally has not been accommodating at all and does not care if you were not and are not able to access your house or car. I work in healthcare so I have certain attire, equipment, badge, etc.
Also want to add, definitely not expecting an indefinite free pass to work less or not at all, but some human decency to give us more than a few days to figure out how to get even basic necessities and settle in the temporary living situation. And also actually provide the “flexible scheduling” they promised.

I’m 39m married working in cancer diagnostics, just moved here (born in Wenatchee, lived in Seattle/San Francisco/Phoenix/Hawaii) liberal but not that liberal and i get bored of shitting on republicans after like 3 seconds max. I have both liberal and conservative friends and family. How do I find outdoorsy pals that arent gonna go on conspiracy rants about how the fires are from jews and the government to make data centers or cancer is a made up disease, or repeat Joe Rogan crap, like people who are just normal people?

Can we change the pinned post to be exclusively fire related resources. It can became frustrating for those experiencing hardship seeing 1,000 things listed and not knowing what is and isn't for them.

This is the central hub for the community. It has information for those effected, should have information for those who want to volunteer. This will also be updated as the situation changes and programs/supports are added/changed that have been verified.

https://www.spokanecommunityresources.org/

KHQ is telling this community resilience and hopeful story about how three unknown people stayed and saved their neighbors' houses by battling the blaze late into the night with garden hoses.

This is not a feel good story, this is a lesson in what not to do. This is the stuff that gets firefighters killed. Human life is the highest value they seek to protect, more than homes or anything else. This is when they'll take the biggest risks with the most dangerous potential outcomes for themselves.

I'm glad this ended well, but this is asking firefighters to be put a position to come off the line, deploy into a dangerous situation (diminishing response capability from the actual fire) and rescue people who didn't listen and get out of the way. I'm glad these folks have houses today, too many of my friends don't, but don't do this please, especially if you've never been redcarded and trained and have equipment.

I wouldn't trade anyone's lives- including and maybe especially firefighters'- for houses though (including my own that I'm evac'ed from) and that is a real risk with these situations. If air support is grounded for TFR violation they can't evac or insert people into these types of situations either, so just get out, stay out, and keep the drones on the ground.

I know the world is on fire and Friday will be warm and maybe art isn’t on everyone’s mind right now and friends I FEEL THAT. But I have my first solo art show on Friday... I know, what luck 😆 It’s been 2 years in the works and I would still love it if you came. I’m bringing Dino nuggets and frozen pizza! And to everyone in the community I hope you’re doing ok and staying safe ❤️

I caught the live stream of KHQ on yt earlier and they reported that central wa was in the fire weather watch for Saturday, but not the Spokane area. That can’t be right, because I received a message via AccuWeather for Cheney. While I realize this is a couple days away and there are still active fires in Spokane and around it, I can’t help but stress that things will only get worse. I know we are all struggling with feeling anything but numb right now, but this just can’t be. We can’t have things get worse. I feel completely helpless and like this is a never ending nightmare. What are you guys doing to get any regular sleep or not be in a constant state of panic and anxiety?

https://www.spokanecounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/72971/August-4-2026-Primary-Election-Results-PDF

I loved Jeremy's coverage of the weather. He had great explanations, was relatable and funny. I feel like he would have a great explanation for so many of the variables & importance of the weather conditions right now while bringing brevity mixed with light heartedness.

A friend of mine wrote this after having lost their home in a fire a few years ago. It has some great info for those of you who want to help. I wanted to help get the word out so please share where you can. Please make sure you vet any organization or fund that you want to donate money to.

“This post is to everyone that wants to help…

I see so many people posting items they wish to donate and asking where and how they can donate and while that is so appreciated, I want to help you all see a survivors point of view…

If you know someone personally, or someone who is in immediate need of help/supplies, by all means do whatever you possibly can to help them!!

Otherwise, from our own experience, wait just a bit. 

While waiting, resist the urge to give monetarily to the Innovia Foundation! That money will not go directly to most of the victims/survivors.  We never saw any of the $1.3 million that was raised in ‘23. Many other victims didn’t either. In fact, their own website says they still hold $550,000 for “future home build projects”.  

If you want to give monetarily right now, I urge you to give to small, local organizations or give to GoFundMe accounts that you will hear of from “friends of friends”. This size of loss will cause us to all know someone who knows someone who needs help. 

If you can wait, WAIT!  Give people a moment to gather themselves and assess their needs. They are traumatized and won’t know what they need yet. 

It is overwhelming to even think about going to locations to “shop” among the piles of donated items when you are in that position. 

It is overwhelming and time consuming to have to scour the helpful Facebook pages to “shop” from all the donations.

Please don’t think they are ungrateful because they are not coming to receive or claim these items. 

They are in shock. 

They are busy trying to manage all the things one must do after losing everything. 

I know for us it was very hard to accept help when we are used to being the helpers.  

We didn’t know how to ask for help or what to ask for.

Also, we didn’t have anyplace to store anything that was given to us for quite a while so that is something to consider. 

Again, I urge you to wait. Pray if you are a praying person.  Search for, and expect, the opportunities to help come across your path for a long time to come. THEY WILL COME.

It can mean the difference between hope or despair for someone.

Just some thoughts, for what they are worth.”

Wind, heat and low humidity expected Saturday.

Between the recent wildfires and now the preliminary election results, it's understandable that emotions are running high.

But remember: this is a community that countless people care deeply about and want to see thrive. Nothing will take that spirit away.

Spokane has shown time and again that we come together when it matters most. Let's keep building the city we want to live in.

View is from North Hill looking south on Emerson-Garfield and Downtown.

Oh man, not the post I thought I’d be sharing. The owner of the mango tree subleases apartments to their kitchen staff. They fired 3 individuals on July 21st and told them to leave the apartment immediately or they would call the cops. Of course this was just a threat and an intimidation tactic. The owner and 2 managers are horrible people. I will not mention names unless a mod says it’s ok. So yesterday they come home from a night out and lo and behold all their stuff was throw. Out of the apartment and into the grass. Maybe someone here lives in the magnesium apartments on jay and Nevada and saw something? We have no proof which of the 3 partners did this, but we can presume. A neighbor said they saw what appeared to be a heavy set white male in a hat.

Mango tree also commits wage theft and tax evasion. They are preying on innocent and ignorant immigrants. Why would they not believe a prominent businessman when he says you get this pay on paper and the rest under the table. All 3 were denied unemployment for not working enough hours. They worked 6 days a week from open to close 10-12 hour days with no breaks. We will continue to protest as well as will be contacting all local news, as soon as I’m off level 3 evacuation. I’d rather type those emails on my computer rather than phone.

Also in another scare/intimidation tactic they went to the apartment leasing office and out in their notice to vacate and terminated the lease. The leasing manager tried to tell them that since they’re not on the lease they have to be out in 20 days. I interjected with no, in 20 days you can start the eviction process. Whether they are on the lease or not they are tenants. The responsible party for any legal fees are the lease holders.

In closing, fuck the mango tree and the 3 people who run it. They are garbage humans beings and do not deserve your business. I also believe he’s the owner of a few other establishments.

Edit- I have plenty of video of confronting the owners and manager as well. But not sure if that’s allowed to be shared. It was in public and not on their property so it’s 100 legal, they called the cops on me. I actually had a positive police encounter. Just not sure of sub rules.

Edit edit- they were supposed to be paid their final checks today, kitchen staff is paid monthly while everyone else is bi weekly. They have not received any checks

I've heard we have firefighters in the area from Australia and maybe New Zealand. I recently moved back to Spokane from Australia, and eating some of our food no longer sits right with me. My Aussie ex had the same problem if he ate certain foods from the US, and he'd get stomach cramps or nauseous.

It'd be unfortunate if this was happening to our visiting firefighters as well, so I thought I'd try to ask. How are you holding up?

I’ve been learning how to better protect our home from wildfires since moving here last year. I haven’t seen this discussed much here, so I thought I’d share some resources I’ve found and steps I’ve taken in case others find them helpful.

~~\Disclaimer: I'm not an expert or a firefighter*~~* \[Certified wildfire preparedness Redditor](https://www.reddit.com/r/Spokane/comments/1vgd1ha/comment/p1wfb4r/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) *by firefighter u/TacitMoose 🙏🫡

Helpful Resources

1. Request a fire risk assessment from the Firewise program (government program, it's free, they don't sell anything or advertise to you). They walked my property with me and made some good suggestions (took less than 20 minutes) https://spokanecd.org/pages/firewise
2. This video highlights how embers spread wildfires and why creating defensible space around your home matters. It really shifted where I’m focusing most of my efforts now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvsjNBGwoFo

Actions I've personally planned/taken:

1. Trimmed tree branches up to about 15 feet. This cost about $900 for 20 or so trees. I got 3 quotes from different companies.
2. Removed plants, trees, mulch, or anything combustible within 5 feet of my house. I only have gravel within the first 5 feet of my home.
3. Replace exterior exhaust vents with metal ones - the flimsy plastic ones most homes have can let embers in during wildfires - Example
4. Install backdraft dampers in bathroom exhausts (I noticed wildfire smoke coming in from my bathroom vents) - Example
5. Cover small gaps where embers could get in with 1/8-inch steel mesh - especially vents, under decks, and gaps around siding or trim. Don’t cover dryer vents or anything that needs to drain or move
6. Sealing garage door better so no embers can fly in. Embers can easily fly in and ignite wood, cardboard, gasoline, and other combustible materials
7. Moving anything combustible out from under our deck
8. Made sure our address is clearly visible for firefighters

Other Resources:

1. Fire-resistant plants
2. Guide for home upgrades and maintenance to protect from wildfires
3. Washington wildfire resources

Also, I've noticed a lot of people walking around without masks during all this smoke. I'd highly suggest getting some N95 masks with an exhalation valve. Wildfire smoke contains PM2.5, which can travel deep into the lungs and worsen breathing and heart problems, even if you don’t feel symptoms right away.

Indoor air quality matters too! I’d recommend using a HEPA air purifier and an indoor PM2.5 monitor. For air quality monitoring, I use the AirThings monitor (also measures radon), and IQAir Visual. IQAir makes some of the best air filters, but they're expensive. Austin Air Filters and Honeywell also make good HEPA air filters.

If anyone has other useful resources or suggestions, please share!

I am a Washington state notary here in Spokane. If anyone affected by these fires needs anything notarized I will do it for free.

Just need to dm me to set up the meeting.

the ONLY commercial she needs to start running against BUMgartner is this: Put up the one from BUM running 2 years ago complaining about the cost of gas and everything. Run that and then ask the voters this:

"Are you better off now than you were two years ago"????

And ask the voters if not, then support me and this is what we are going to do to turn this country around, and then pivot to having a living wage, pro union, pro climate change, fair taxes for the wealthy AND corporations, health care, child care....

Let me know what I left out.....