Fire Debris Removal in Spokane

Spokane Complex Fires, 2026

The House Burned. The Lot Still Has to Get Clean.

A burned house is still a demolition project, with extra rules. Spokane Clean Air treats fire debris like any other demolition load. Read their Spokane Complex Fire Fact Sheet (PDF) before anyone scoops. Graham Road is the usual destination for ash. The county wants a debris or demolition permit. On many Complex Fire parcels, EPA household hazardous materials work has to finish before grading or excavation can start. County rules: Spokane County Fire Debris Disposal.

Event hub: Spokane Complex Fire cleanup. Old Trails, Autumn Lane, Fairview. The Oregon Road Fire and Gray Fire were 2023. We still work those lots. They are not this complex.

That is not restoration. SERVPRO dries a livable house. We take down what cannot be saved and get the debris off the property so an adjuster, an inspector, or a builder can take the next step. If you are staring at a pile, or a standing shell, this is the crew.

What Fire Debris Removal Includes

• Demolition of fire-damaged houses, shops, garages, barns, and mobile homes
• Ash, char, and mixed structural debris loaded into our trucks and roll-offs
• Asbestos survey coordination, including alternate grid surveys on burned debris
• Spokane Clean Air Notice of Intent, including the waiting period
• Spokane County demolition or debris-removal permit, or the rebuild permit when that covers demo
• Licensed disposal of ash and mixed debris, typically Graham Road
• Scrap metal pulled out. Graham Road does not take it
• Rough grade and a magnetic sweep so the lot is safe to walk

What We Do Not Do

We do not extract water, dry framing, treat smoke odor, or rebuild. If the house is still a house, hire a restoration contractor. If the house is a total loss, or the debris has to come off the lot, hire us. We will say which one you are looking at on the first call.

We also do not remove household hazardous materials. EPA has been assigned that work on many Spokane County fire parcels at no cost to the owner. Paint, solvents, batteries, compressed cylinders, and similar items are their lane unless you have opted out and documented your own removal.

The Legal Sequence Before a Machine Starts

Fire debris cleanup in Spokane County is not a same-day scoop. The order is the job. Skip a step and the landfill rejects the load, or the county stops the work.

1. Document the loss. Photos before anything moves. Open the insurance claim.
2. Confirm EPA household hazardous materials status on the parcel, or documented opt-out. Grading and excavation wait on this.
3. Asbestos survey by an AHERA-certified inspector. Burned debris usually needs an alternate grid survey because the materials are no longer intact.
4. Notice of Intent with Spokane Clean Air. Standard wait is 10 days, or 3 days on a qualifying owner-occupied single-family home. Emergency waiver exists for qualifying projects.
5. Demolition or debris permit through Spokane County Building and Planning, or the city if you are inside city limits. If you rebuild in substantially the same footprint, the building permit can cover the demolition.
6. Waste profile and disposal setup before a container hits the lot. Graham Road will not take a mystery load.
7. Take-down, load-out, haul. Site kept wet. Loads covered. Asbestos-containing material packaged and manifested when the survey says it is there.
8. Closeout packet for you and the insurer: survey, NOI confirmation, landfill tickets, waste shipment records.

The full homeowner walkthrough lives on our Spokane fire debris cleanup guide. Permit and survey rules in general are on the permits and asbestos page.

Where the Debris Actually Goes

Graham Road Recycling and Disposal Facility in Medical Lake is the Spokane County destination for ash and for asbestos-containing fire debris. Transfer stations can take some identifiable fire-damaged material when a negative asbestos survey rides with the load. Dedicated ash does not belong at a transfer station.

Graham Road also rejects scrap metal, household contents, electronics, refrigerant appliances, and vehicles. Those get segregated and routed separately. If a contractor tells you everything on a burned lot goes in one box to one dump, they have not read the acceptance rules.

Insurance, Scope, and a Number in Writing

Most fire debris jobs in this county are insurance jobs. You get a written scope and a fixed quote you can send to the adjuster. The asbestos position is stated once: included, allowance, or excluded pending survey. We do not hide that line, because it is the number that blows up later if it is fuzzy.

We do not knock on doors asking for a signature today. We do not take full payment up front. If someone is doing that in your driveway, call the Washington Insurance Commissioner and hire someone else.