When the Fires Hit Home: Our Week Helping Spokane

Some weeks are hard to sum up in a single post. It all started with one simple question, how can we help? And by the end, has turned into one of the most meaningful weeks in our company’s history. When the fires hit our city, we didn’t wait around for a plan. We came up with three things to do and got to work on them immediately.

What has already happened

1. We built the recharge station
   We opened up our headquarters to fire crews, 7AM to 9PM every single day offering hot food, coffee, and a place to wash up and rest between shifts.
2. We donated 50 pairs
   We committed 50 pairs of wildland fire boots to the crews on the line, then blew past that allotment because the requests just kept coming.
3. Home Front Day
   On August 5, every dollar of profit from every store and every online order went to Spokane residents who lost their homes.

What we’re doing now

All week our station has been up at the Spokane Complex Base Camp, swapping fresh boots onto the crews who need them most, worst boots first.

Home Front Day absolutely overwhelmed us. Thank you. And then our inboxes changed: people wanted to support not only the firefighters, but us too. We don't take donations. So we built the one thing everyone kept asking for.

Sponsor a Firefighter: you sponsor a pair, we match it to a fire crew member who needs it, and we deliver it directly to them. You built this. All we did was answer.

A fresh pair of boots is more than just new gear. After months of worn-out soles, tired leather, and feet that have taken a beating, it's a real relief and one less thing to worry about heading into another long shift. To every sponsor, we thank you for being an amazing human. To every firefighter working these fires, we’re grateful for everything you are doing this fire season and we’re cheering you on.

What You Can Still Do

You can still sponsor a firefighter by visiting our Sponsor a Firefighter page and placing an order from there. Follow the deliveries here @jkboots and #JKHomeFront.

If you would rather donate directly, you can make a tax deductible gift to other funds like the City of Spokane’s H.O.M.E. Starts Here Fund, or the Innovia Foundation’s Spokane Complex Wildfire Response Fund.

For the latest official fire information visit the Spokane Emergency Management and Washington DNR pages. 

Thank you once again to our whole community whether you’re a sponsor or a firefighter. We love this community and the opportunity we have to serve it.