Malden resident Jim Jacobs

Jim Jacobs, 90, stands on his home site and talks about life in Malden, Washington Thursday, July 15, 2021. He lives in a motorhome on the site of the home he lost in the Labor Day fire in 2020 that destroyed the town. Jacobs lost his wife just days after the fire that devastated the town and he’s lived in the motorhome since a few weeks after the fire. He hopes to have some kind of home on the site before winter, if possible.

Section:Gallery

Thu., Sept. 2, 2021

Diana Totten, left, hands a cup of coffee to Jim Jacobs, 90, a neighbor, after moving into the new home built for her and her daughter in Malden, Washington Friday, Mar. 26, 2021. The new home was just completed my missionaries of an Anabaptist community from Montana. A Spokane furniture store had just dropped off a couch set, a dining room set and a new mattress as a gift.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
In this undated family photo, Jim and Joy Jacobs are seen at home . The couple lived in Malden, Washington on Labor Day 2020 when a fire destroyed most of the town, including their home. Joy died just days after the fire and Jim, 90, has struggled to survive alone, living in a motor home on their property in Malden.

Photo Courtesy Of Jim Jacobs
Jim Jacobs, 90, looks at some of the tools he salvaged from the ashes in Malden, Washington Thursday, July 15, 2021 where he lost his longtime home in the Labor Day fire in 2020 that destroyed the town of Malden. Jacobs doesn’t think any of his tools are salvageable Jacobs lost his wife just days after the fire that devastated the town and he’s lived in the motorhome since a few weeks after the fire. He is building a shed for tinkering and hopes to have some kind of home on the site before winter, if possible.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Revi
Jim Jacobs, 90, and his dog Goldie walk around what’s left of his home site in Malden, Washington Thursday, July 15, 2021 where he lost his house in the Labor Day fire in 2020 that destroyed the town of Malden. This tiny slab was where he had put a greenhouse for him and his wife, but a windstorm had destroyed it years ago. Jacobs lost his wife just days after the fire that devastated the town and he’s lived in the motorhome since a few weeks after the fire. He is building a shed for tinkering and hopes to have some kind of home on the site before winter, if possible.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Revi
Jim Jacobs, 90, stands inside the shed he’s building on his homesite and talks about living in Malden, Washington Thursday, July 15, 2021 where he lost his longtime home in the Labor Day fire in 2020 that destroyed the town. Jacobs lost his wife just days after the fire that devastated the town and he’s lived in the motorhome since a few weeks after the fire. He hopes to have some kind of home on the site before winter, if possible.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Revi
Jim Jacobs, 90, stands on his home site and talks about life in Malden, Washington Thursday, July 15, 2021. He lives in a motorhome on the site of the home he lost in the Labor Day fire in 2020 that destroyed the town. Jacobs lost his wife just days after the fire that devastated the town and he’s lived in the motorhome since a few weeks after the fire. He hopes to have some kind of home on the site before winter, if possible.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Revi
Jim Jacobs, 90, plays with his dog Goldie in Malden, Washington Thursday, July 15, 2021 next to the motorhome where he has lived since he lost his house in the Labor Day fire in 2020 that destroyed the town. Jacobs lost his wife just days after the fire that devastated the town and he’s lived in the motorhome since a few weeks after the fire. He hopes to have some kind of permanent home on the site before winter, if possible.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Revi
Jim Jacobs, 90, talks about life in Malden, Washington Thursday, July 15, 2021 while dishing up ice cream for visitors in a motorhome where he lives on the site of the home he lost in the Labor Day fire in 2020 that destroyed the town. Jacobs lost his wife just days after the fire that devastated the town and he’s lived in the motorhome since a few weeks after the fire. He hopes to have some kind of home on the site before winter, if possible.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Revi
Jim Jacobs, 90, talks about life in Malden, Washington Thursday, July 15, 2021 in a motorhome where he lives on the site of the home he lost in the Labor Day fire in 2020 that destroyed the town of Malden. Jacobs lost his wife just days after the fire that devastated the town and he’s lived in the motorhome since a few weeks after the fire. He hopes to have some kind of home on the site before winter, if possible.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Revi