More on the California Wildfires (II)

This morning (10.29) helicopters are still flying overhead in an attempt to get the wildfires fully contained. The one closest to our home is 50% contained, which is the good news. The bad news is that today will once again be hot and breezey with the additional prospect of the Santa Ana winds kicking up again by mid-week or by Friday. Please pray that this does not occur since there are still many hot spots that could flare up and do more damage.

As we begin to clean up and get back to "business as usual" out here the list of suspected arsonists grows. It is now believed that the Malibu fire was started by a downed electrical wire and, quite possibly, the rest were the work of arsonists. The San Diego fires were started, in part, by those who wanted to create a diversion so more illegals could pour across our already porous borders. They succeeded!

Its more than just a little ironic to observe how the fires are now being politicized. Our illustrious gaggle of Democrat elected officials have long since forgotten that they are elected officials. They typically ignore the citizen unless, of course, the citizen agrees with them. If you call their offices, you get some "kid" who takes the call, acts annoyed that you disagree, and promises to pass your comments along. Right. Fortunately, our elected officials have backed off from the "the fires were started by global warming" mantra, but they are still, no doubt, Bush's fault.

There's always a sympathetic ear for the illegal aliens (usually called--even by some PCA pastors--undocumented workers) that it's somehow our fault that they're coming here and we're just wrong for not extending to them every conceivable welfare opportunity. But it's not just us: a number of states on the East Coast wants to issue driver's licenses (you know, the kind you can use to board airplanes loaded with jet fuel) as do our Democrat officials out here on the Left Coast. What price a vote?

The upshot of today's "office memo" is a request for your prayers for the weather and also a prayer for the well being of our state. We are affluent, self-centered, self-absorbed and don't realize how truly poor we are. To make matters worse, the so-called spiritual leaders who "talk" to tens of thousands adherents every Sunday only make matters worse.

More on the California Wildfires

Friday, Oct. 26th

This morning I awoke to the sound of three large fire helicopters flying overhead moving to the Silverado Canyon area fires. Even though Orange, CA is out of danger and the fires are moving towards Riverside, there is a layer of smoke that burns the eyes and makes it very difficult to see when you're driving. I was out early this morning and all of Orange and Villa Park is shrouded is smoke. Visibility is very low and it staggers the imagination how little you can actually see. Sore throats and coughing are the orders of the day.

One arson was shot and killed by law enforcement officers when he fled the scene where he was attempting to start another fire. A chase ensued and the arsonist rammed the police cruiser, which, in CA, is grounds to use lethal force. As the news unfolds it is being discovered that there are a number of arson suspects, which means that a number of the many fires raging in Southern California was started intentionally. You really have to wonder what motivates a person to do such a thing!

This raises the ethical issue of whether arsonists ought to be charged with more than mere arson in light of the untold damage done by their deed, the inordinate man hours spent battling the blazes, the loss of personal property, and the loss of life. Given the situation it seems that the charges ought to include murder and attempted murder at the very least.

The death toll continues to rise as firefighters are now finding occupants in their burned homes. It remains to be seen how many actually perished either refusing to leave their homes or who were unable to get out in time.

There is also the "environmentalist wacko" part of the equation. Big Bear has been a tender box for years. Some hardcore environmentalists have lobbied to keep foresters from thinning out trees destroyed by the bark beetle on the grounds that it would disturb nature's equilibrium to do so. Their actions are just one more evidence that Americans have been intimidated into "caving" when it comes to the unreasonable demands of these folks. But they have an agenda and even a catastrophe of this magnitude cannot dissuade those who have imbibed of the Kool-Aid. These fine folks have so much influence that they have prevented the United State Marines at Camp Pendleton from performing certain training exercises because of the unrest they might cause to the eco-balance of certain sea birds. When you pass by Pendleton on I-5 you'll see a sign that states that the Marines are contributing to preserving the ecology of Southern California. Personally, I'd like to see something along the lines of "Training Marines to kill the enemy and protect Americans," but that's just me.

There will be more than ample opportunity for us to provide Deaconal assistance to those who have suffered loss. This will provide us with a true "hands on" experience and will separate those who merely talk about mercy ministry and those who don't talk about it so much, but when the chips are down actually do something about it.

The damage to Southern California in the aftermath of these fires has yet to be calculated. Damage is in the millions of dollars and the clean up will take quite a while. Outside of our house--and we were not in the line of fire this time--looks like a war zone. Drinking water has been affected in the hardest hit areas and those who want to get back to see if their homes are still standing are being prohibited. Trees are down, snapped like toothpicks in the near hurricane force winds, fences are down, and virtually everything is covered with soot and ash, even in the unaffected areas. Air quality is awful. Even when you're used to air you can chew as we are out here, it is evident that our air is contaminated exponentially.

Please continue to pray for Southern California and those who are in leadership. Our illustrious Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi has proved--once again--his incompetence by ascribing the wildfires to global warming. Several noted scientists said he was nuts. I'm thinking about running for LT Governor of California next year. It seems like a cushy job where you don't really have to do much except get paid to make ludicrous comments.

The Southern California Wildfires

For the last week we have been following the horrific wildfires that have swept across Southern California. In the thirteen years that we’ve lived out here, these are the worst fires we’ve experienced. There are a number of factors that contributed to the damage and destruction caused by these fires, not least of which is the fact that we have only had approximately two inches of rain this year. Everything was dry and a veritable tender box. All that was needed was one spark with a little wind and the damage would have been done. What we received, rather, were lots of “sparks,” some set by arsonists, and a lot of hurricane force Santa Ana winds. That was a recipe for catastrophe. When you couple those conditions with high, high temperatures and near single-digit humidity you’re in trouble.
To date, over 315,000 acres have burned and nearly 1,000,000 people had to evacuate their homes. As of Thursday 25, 2007 there are still six fires burning in San Diego County and at least 1,500 homes and businesses have been destroyed. In the Lake Arrowhead area there are still two fires burning, 300 homes destroyed, 10,000 homes threatened, and 6, 000 acres burned. In Orange County, at least 9 homes and buildings were destroyed, 43.000 residents were evacuated, and 22,000 acres burned. Some are just returning to those homes today or to what used to be their home, but what is now merely charred ashes. It will take a long time to clean up the mess, but there are opportunities for us both within the household of faith as well as outside of it. President Bush was in California today and took a helicopter reconnaissance of the worst hit areas. He promised government aid, for which we can be thankful.
When the dust, smoke, and “smaze” clear, however, the Lord will provide us with many opportunities to be of aid—once matters start getting sorted out. I know of at least one PCA family in San Diego that lost their home and there could well be others. Our Presbytery emailed back and forth during the worst part of the fires to try to perform a kind of “collective check” on each other. I was also able to communicate with PCA headquarters in Atlanta as well as with Dominic Aquila, who is the editor of PCA News.
We received an email from Pastor Ken Han at Grace Presbyterian Church (Fallbrook) and there was concern about members’ houses as well as for the church building. To date, I haven’t had a follow-up report from him, but I have heard that the building where they meet was spared. It also appears that none of the PCA churches in San Diego were endangered, although Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido had to evacuate, then got an all clear, and then had to evacuate again. Apparently, there was roof damage to a house literally across the street, but WTS remained unscathed. The last I heard they have electricity and are waiting for permission to get back to the campus. There were a few professors whose houses were threatened, but to date I don’t have any confirmation.
Today (10.25) I received an email that a representative from PCA Disaster Relief will be arriving in Southern California soon to access the damages and begin relief efforts. This is the same organization that orchestrated the Katrina relief efforts and they did an exemplary job.
Without minimizing the loss that many of our fellow Californians have experienced I wonder if there isn’t a larger, more spiritual angle to these fires. For anyone with a spiritual conscience it does seem that the Lord has been trying to get America’s attention for a while. Across the “fruited plain” we’ve had reports of tornados, Katrina, the I-35 bridge collapse, and a severe drought in the South (In a phone conservation recently one of my friend and colleagues in South Carolina told me that his city has enough water left for 49 days!).
Now we’ve had the fires. Is there a message to our country from God? Have we even stopped to ponder that question? I don’t expect the (neo)-pagans to, but it would certainly behoove the Christian Church to reflect upon the spiritual side of this natural disaster. Few will reflect upon Amos 3:6 (Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?) For the longest time Christianity has been mocked and that by those who call themselves ministers of the Word. For the longest time people have accumulated possession and wealth; they lived the “good life;” and they trusted in their social status and affluence. Perhaps it’s time for them and us to perform some spiritual inventory. This has been a momentous and chilling week in Southern California.The headline on the front page of The Orange County Register Thursday the 25th read: Lives in Shambles. For the Christian, that headline can never be true. They can face a number of great difficulties and trials, but because of Christ our lives are never in shambles. Truly, they were before the Savior made us his own, but there is a lot more of a devastating character in life than losing a house; what if you accumulate all the “stuff” but your soul is not saved? In addition to the Amos text, I’m also reminded of Romans 8:28. That text might anger many today, but it should be our greatest comfort in this time of need.