Northern California diocese aids people affected by the state’s fifth-ever largest wildfire
[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California is reaching out to help people impacted by the Park Fire, which in just a week has grown to the fifth largest wildfire in California history. Three area churches now are servin…
Firefighters work to control the Park Fire on July 28 along Highway 32, near Jonesville, California. The wildfire, the fifth-largest ever in the state's history, was started on July 24. Photo: Fred Greaves/REUTERS
[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California is reaching out to help people impacted by the Park Fire, which in just a week has grown to the fifth largest wildfire in California history.
These hubs are open during the day to provide information to community members about evacuation sites and disaster aid; and serve as a place where people can recharge phones or use computers, and food and water.
The diocese is being assisted by Episcopal Relief & Development, which said in a July 30 statement that it is providing hands-on guidance to help the diocese respond to affected communities after the immediate rescue phase is over.
In a July 27 post on the diocese's Facebook page, Bishop Megan Traquair said, "I ask you to join me in caring for anyone affected by fires in the West and especially the Park Fire in Northern California." She also asked people to pray "for those in warning zones, for those evacuated, for First Responders, for those already traumatized by wildfire. Pray for their protection, both outward and inward, against all hurts."
The wildfire started on July 24 when a man, who police later arrested on arson charges, pushed a burning car into a 60-foot ravine during tinder-dry conditions. The fire now has spread to four counties, with more than 26,000 people evacuated and nearly 390,000 acres burned, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
In addition to opening the evacuation resource hubs, the diocese also has provided $8,000 worth of gift cards to help people buy food, gas and other items. An appeal also has gone out across the diocese for contributions to help replenish Bishop's Disaster Fund.
That money will help create and distribute Project (Re)Start bins, which contain essential household and personal goods to aid victims after the initial days of a disaster. With help from Episcopalians in the neighboring Diocese of California, there currently are more than 100 bins ready to be sent to those in need, Rellaford said.
Adding to the heartbreak of the fire, Rellaford said, is that the initial burn scar is right next to the town of Paradise, which was the site of the devastating 2018 Camp Fire that killed 85 and destroyed more than 18,000 structures. Paradise now is under an evacuation order.
Members of the diocese are among those immediately impacted by the latest fire. One person who lost his home during the Camp Fire built a new one in nearby Cohasset – and that house now has been destroyed by the Park Fire. One woman, who serves as senior warden of her church, evacuated her rural home, leaving gates open and hoping that her livestock can find a way to escape and survive. She now is assisting at one of the evacuation resource hubs, Rellaford said.
He noted that other, smaller fires also have been burning this summer across the diocese, forcing a number of parishioners to evacuate their homes.
Episcopal Relief & Development said it stands ready to support any additional needs the diocese has and is continuing its partnership with the diocese for ongoing disaster resilience.
— Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.
No comments:
Post a Comment