MALDEN, Wa. (June 2, 2021) – Operation Still Standing: To the residents of Pine Creek and Malden – we know you are Still Standing and we are standing with you. Team Rubicon, a veteranled non-profit disaster response organization, is standing up a mitigation response in Malden and Pine Creek after last year’s Babb Fire using PNW-area veterans, first responder, and civilian volunteers.
Team Rubicon has been asked by local Whitman County Leaders to help remove thousands of trees killed by the fire. Still standing, these trees are a hazard to the community, motorists on roadways, and are fuel for future fires. Team Rubicon’s volunteers, called Greyshirts, will begin falling, removal and chipping operations the first week of June and last about a week. A command post is being established near Malden to direct operations of nearly 40 volunteers who have mobilized from as far away as Alaska to form operational strike teams.
This year is likely to be rife with wildfires, and Team Rubicon has been heavily engaged in wildfire mitigation efforts in states prone to severe wildfires. In 2021, Team Rubicon has completed 12 wildfire mitigation operations to help communities defend infrastructure and personal property for what is expected to be a very dry and dangerous summer.