Cars destroyed in Babb Fire being recycled

Sheriff estimates 150 have already been removed

Jana Mathia, Whitman County Gazette | Oct 22, 20200

Roger Harnack | Free Press Publishing count

Burned cars destroyed in the Babb Fire are being removed from Malden and recycled.

count

MALDEN - Junk cars removal in Malden is on a roll with about half of them gone.

The collaborated efforts are cleaning up the area following the Labor Day fire. There is still all lot to do, but there has been quite a bit of effort in clearing away the junk metal, according to Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers ,.

"The community's really worked hard to get those cleaned up," he said.

The sheriff's office performed a slough of VIN inspections after the fire to begin the paperwork to have vehicles declared junk.

Myers estimated 150 cars have already been moved and are along the trail to recycling. He said the junked vehicles are being stacked in a certain area in town and are hauled by recyclers from there.

The sheriff reported a lot of cleanup is done but there are not a lot of structures left. Many are just foundations to be torn out before work can start on a new house.

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 the un-insured to access resources to help in the cleanup process.

As for the junk vehicles, Myers hopes to have 75-80% are gone before the first hard frost. Not all old vehicles will be removed as there are still some people choosing to hang on to vehicles that went through the fire.