Maria Cantwell

A top Trump official joined Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell Wednesday on a visit to Eastern Washington communities grappling with destructive wildfires, including a closed door meeting at the incident command post for the blazes in Spokane County.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum did not provide details on his whirlwind tour through the region. He did not publicize the visit, and the Department of Interior did not return multiple requests for information from The Spokesman-Review.

The Spokesman-Review was also denied access to cover the meeting on a visit to the command post at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds.

The former North Dakota governor visited with the Spokane Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation before stopping by Spokane, according to the senator’s communications team. The request to deny media access came from Interior, they said.

In an interview, Cantwell said the pair were briefed on lessons learned by first responders, including what resources still are needed, how federal investment could help local agencies and the ways newly developed technology informed response strategies for the Spokane Complex fires.

Cantwell caught wind of Burgum visiting and made herself available to accompany him, she said. She did not know what originally brought him to the area.

“We certainly don’t want to lose resources for our state, and we wanted to make sure where the status of the Spokane fires and response was,” Cantwell said.

Cantwell said she also stressed that federal resources are needed elsewhere in the state. The little Giant Fire in Chelan County was reported to be 127,000 acres on Wednesday.

“It may have moved up to the top one or two fires in the country, and so we wanted to make sure the secretary heard about that.”

Cantwell said she will continue to monitor the fires in the state, the responses, and what lessons can be learned for future communities. Many congressional representatives in Western states share her concern about the threat of urban wildfires, highlighted by the destructive Spokane Complex fires.

What comes next, and how to prepare and respond to similar blazes in the future was a large part of the conversations in Eastern Washington, as well as among elected leaders nationally, she said.

“We’ve had now three big urban fires in the United States of America with Lahaina, Palisades, and now Spokane,” Cantwell said. “And what does that mean for all of us in each of our individual roles?”