Senator Squire Appeals for Fire Relief
Washington Senator Watson C. Squire petitions the Department of Agriculture to prioritize fire-ravaged Whatcom County for seed distribution.
Washington City, Feb. 9. Special to the P-I: The following letter to the Secretary of Agriculture is self-explanatory: 'I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 25th last, in which you state that you have given instructions that your entire allotment of seeds, or a portion of the amount purchased, be placed at the disposal of the drought sufferers of the West. I have now the honor to request that in making the above named distribution, a portion of the seeds may be sent to the districts in the state of Washington that have been devastated by fire, in accordance with my former application to you in this direction. The suffering of the people in the state of Washington is great, particularly in the county of Whatcom. I earnestly request that they be sent to this county. Yours, Watson C. Squire.'
“The suffering of the people in the state of Washington is great, particularly in the county of Whatcom.”
This 1895 appeal highlights the recurring vulnerability of Washington's rural communities to environmental catastrophe. Today, the state continues to grapple with the intersection of climate-driven wildfires and the need for federal agricultural and disaster relief.
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