Dear friends in Christ,
Many are asking if, when, and how Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) will become involved in the wildfires that are burning in Arizona and Colorado, destroying homes, and causing thousands to evacuate.
LDR has been in contact over the past weeks with the ELCA Synod offices, LCMS District offices, and Lutheran social ministry agencies on whose territory the flames are burning. To provide some context, I’d like to share with you a portion of the Disaster News Network’s current report on the situation in Arizona, which is presently on TV news reports and in local newspapers:
*** Disaster News Network Report ***
FACING LOSS IN AZ
June 26, 2002
By Wednesday nearly 400 homes had burned. Responders were addressing both emergency and long-term needs. The fire had grown to 375,000 acres -- or 568 square miles -- Wednesday and was five percent contained.
Firefighters were able to keep the blaze from entering Show Low Tuesday, though flames devoured 15 homes on the outskirts of the town of 7,700.
The fire-stricken state was declared a federal disaster area Tuesday.
Some 30,000 people are out of their homes, and more than 400 homes and businesses have been destroyed by the Rodeo-Chediski Fire. The hard-hit community of Heber-Overgaard has lost its senior center, feed store, and many other community mainstays.
According to Forest Service officials, of nearly 400 homes and businesses destroyed, more than 200 were in Heber-Overgaard. About 3,500 people live in the community year-round, although the summer population can swell to 10,000.
At the Pinecrest Lakes RV Park, home to many retirees, an estimated 168 of the 200 mobile homes were destroyed.
Meanwhile in Durango, CO, a 67,000-acre fire has burned at least 45 homes and damaged hundreds of power poles, cutting off electricity to more than 500 abandoned homes.
The fire season is still young. The ten-year average for acreage burned in the Western U.S. is roughly 985,000 acres per year, pointed out Peter J. Van Hook, a disaster response and recovery liaison with the CWS emergency response program. "So far in 2002 the fires have burned 2.6 million acres, with most of the fires still out of control," he said.
"Furthermore, the fire season has just begun -- that is, the heat of the summer and the summer thunderstorms are yet to come."
*** End of Disaster News Network report ***
LDR continues to assess the developing situations in Arizona and Colorado. LDR will respond with Lutheran and other faith groups, as well as community and government responders, when the situation is appropriate. Over the years LDR has had experience with fire disasters, and is ready to utilize the knowledge and presence of those who responded to devastating fires in California, Los Alamos, and (most recently) Montana.
What can you do to help?
First, please maintain your fervent prayers of support! Pray for the firefighters on the front line, who work long hours in perilous locations. Pray for the thousands who must evacuate their homes, not know to what situation they will return.
Second, send your contributions. Lutheran Disaster Response stands ready to offer immediate assistance in these tense moments, as well as long-term support after the flames are extinguished. Your financial support will enable that.
ELCA DOMESTIC Disaster Response – “Western Fires”
PO Box 71764
Chicago, Illinois 60694-1764
Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
Credit card gifts via the web: www.elca.org/disaster
LC-MS Human Care and World Relief – “Western Fires”
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-9810
Credit card gift line: 1-888-930-4438
Yours in Christ,
Gil Furst
GILBERT B. FURST (written on June 26, 2002, at 6:36 PM
Director, ELCA Domestic Disaster Response (Division for Church in Society),
Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LCMS)
8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago 60631 PHONE: 773-380-2719 FAX: 773-380-2493
Visit our website: www.ldr.org
