The Valley Fire wasn't the only wildfire in Lake County, CA, this year, but it was the most devastating. Over a two-week period in mid to late September, it burned over 76,000 acres of land and destroyed nearly 2,000 structures, including 1,300 homes. At the height of the fire, more than 20,000 people were displaced from their homes. United Christian Parish in Lakeport, a congregation affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the United Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church (USA), served over 1,500 people as a day shelter. For three weeks, the church offered people a hot meal and canned food items to take with them, a change of clothes, computer access, gift cards for gas stations, a tent if they needed it, and, most importantly, someone to sit and listen to their story. Many who came to the church had escaped the fire with little more than the clothes on their back.
 

Now, nearly two months after the fire was contained, signs of devastation are still evident - especially through the charred trees that remain standing, dangerously, with blackened trunks and brown needles. In most of the county's impacted communities, places like Loch Lomond, Adams, Hobergs, and Cobb, it is harder to see the devastated homes. Dotted across a rolling, wooded landscape, these homes were burned to their foundations, reduced to cinders and ash. In other communities, like Middletown, where the woods give way to a more pastoral landscape, it is possible to note the haphazard path of the fire through the dead or felled trees, vehicles reduced to their scorched metal frames, and, in many places, cleared lots where homes once stood.
 

Rev. Shannon Kimbell-Auth, pastor of the United Christian Parish, was our host for the morning. She shared about the church's involvement as a day shelter. She led us through the devastated communities. She talked about the people who were impacted, the homes lost, and the ways that the community is working to recover. She gave thanks for early solidarity grants received through Week of Compassion and shared how those gifts enabled her church to respond to the immediate needs of its members and its neighbors.

Near the end of our drive together, traffic was temporarily stopped by a construction crew. As we waited, Shannon pointed out across a field, past a series of scorched cars and dead trees, next to a collapsed building, to where a trailer could just be seen. Shannon reflected that the morning had been relatively normal for her family - and how odd that felt. It felt odd, because they haven't had many normal mornings over the past two months; and it felt odd, because she knows so many families in their community are displaced, or living in temporary housing like this trailer, facing an uncertain future. As she shared her concerns, I suddenly became aware of the music playing softly over the car radio.

This was the first time I remember hearing Christmas music during a visit with a recently devastated community, one still working to turn the corner toward recovery. The contrast between the hopefulness of that song and the devastation before us was jarring. Yet it struck me how perfectly appropriate it was, a reminder that the light of Christ comes into the world even in the darkest of times - and a reminder of our need to bear the light with compassion as we offer hope, healing, and a helping hand:

Our latest Kids to Kids project helps kids understand more about the Syrian refugee crisis and how to show God's love through hands-on mission:

Download the PDF from the Family & Children's Ministry website. This resource has been created in partnership with Week of Compassion and DHM's Refugee & Immigration Ministries.

   

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