Conferences Struggle to Aid Wildfire Victims Amid Obstacles

Coronavirus Restrictions, Toxic Conditions, Poor Communications Hamper Efforts

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UPDATED 5:17 a.m. CDT Saturday, Sept. 12

With more than 100 wildfires still raging in the western United States, disaster response teams from The United Methodist Church are finding their relief efforts hampered by the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic, interrupted communications, and potentially toxic conditions at wildfire sites.

Their task is formidable. As of Sept. 12, some 500,000 people -- more than 10 oercent f its entire population -- were evacuated from wildfire paths in Oregon, according to Weather.com On Sept. 11, the Seattle Times headlined its newsletter: “Wildfires tear through homes as Seattle area braces for ‘super-massive’ smoke plume.” The newspaper reported the smoke blanket covered “essentially the entire western half of the state, after still-raging wildfires charred more than a million acres in Washington and Oregon.” By the afternoon of Sept. 11, the Times reported the air quality in Washington and most of the western coastal United States was “very unhealthy” from wildfire smoke. Fire victims reported homes completely destroyed and injured animals roaming the charred landscape.

United Methodist Insight contacted disaster response coordinators in five annual conferences, California Pacific, California-Nevada, Oregon-Idaho, Pacific Northwest and Mountain Sky, and the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area. Their responses follow.

Judy Lewis, California Pacific Annual Conference: “As our most recent fires are still not 100% contained it is hard to say [what the full impact on churches will be]. They said yesterday the Apple Fire should be out in a couple of weeks but anticipate the middle of October for the Bobcat fire which is at 0 containment now. Unlike regular house fires, the temperatures are much higher for wildfires, releasing more toxins. Before we can even go in and help a homeowner sort, there must be environmental clearance. Depending on such possibilities as lead, asbestos, and plant toxins it could be that the homeowner will never get to see their site. Sometimes they scrape like 12 inches off the whole property and take it to the appropriate level landfills. (Often in Nevada). 

“Because of our housing density, we have much greater fire-fighting resources than Northern California with small towns. Even in our forests, many of the houses are second homes. Not that for each person it isn’t horrendous, but in a broader picture we are actually affected less. While we worked on two churches from earthquake damage recently, we’ve so far had no churches burned from wildfires. 

“With COVID-19, we are no longer allowed to meet the survivors so it is very doubtful we will be able to do what we are trained for: listening, caring, and helping to clean out and rebuild. On the other hand, we are still just in early stages of rebuilds for the Thomas fire of 2017. At that same time, the Lilac (and then Alpine) fires were burning in San Diego area. We have actually closed the Lilac response and have one left in Alpine.  This weekend we had a new one start in that same area. Many evacuees are at the San Diego convention center, spaced far apart. We are delivering 500 UMCOR hygiene kits there today (Sept. 10) at the request of the county. We have a very strong working relationship with them and the SD VOAD (San Diego volunteer organizations). We have had no contacts with the evacuees from the El Dorado Fire, but it is now spreading to Forest Falls, so there will be more. 

“We have a very active long-term recovery group for the 2018 Woolsey Fire. The first mobile homes have started to arrive, so we’ll be doing fire-resistant landscaping and ramp building outside where we can keep our distance. Many times we have been to wind and water events where within days we start clearing out, tarring roofs, etc., but wildfires are very different. The news has longed dropped any mention before we can even start our work with survivors.

“We’re experiencing what we’ve dubbed a ‘Wildfire Pandemic.’ Where we live near the Ontario airport, our skies have been eerie yellow or brown for days now. At least the 117-degree temps have dropped to the 90s.  We have two reasons for wearing masks!" 

Greater Northwest Bishop Issues COVID Safety Instructions for Wildfire Aid.

Jim Truitt, Greater Northwest Episcopal Area: “We are working lots of food ministries, distributing 3,500 sheets which were donated to Cal-Pac, and continuing projects on the border. Our shower trailer is being used by California-Nevada, but our three tool trailers are just waiting for teams to be able to go out and work.”

Kathy and Dana Bryson, Pacific Northwest Conference co-coordinators: "The Washington State and Idaho panhandle areas of the Pacific Northwest UMC Conference began in earnest mid-August. 

"On Labor Day alone there were 58 new fire starts in counties ranging from south of the Canadian border in Northeast Washington, to the panhandle of Idaho, through the center of the state and just south of Seattle.  Entire towns, such as Malden and Pine City in Whitman County, have been devastated.

"As the Pacific Northwest Conference UMC Disaster Response Coordinators, we reached out to District Superintendents and their churches to understand how their congregation and surrounding communities might have been impacted. 

"Our immediate actions:

  • Connected with response organizations, such as the American Red Cross, to provide churches and their surrounding communities with information for immediate sheltering support
  • Applied for and received a $10,000 UMCOR Solidarity grant to support wildfire relief needs in the Okanogan County
  • Initiated an ash sifter kit building project with several churches
  • Sent 100 UMCOR cleaning kits to community resource centers in Okanogan County
  • Stayed in communications with our Washington Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster partners to share information and coordinate connections and resources for our churches and their communities
  • Worked across Conference boarders with our Oregon-Idaho Conference counterparts to share information and maximize resources for relief efforts"

“Disaster know no boundaries,” said Dana Bryson in an email. “We’re working seamlessly with our counterparts across Conference borders and the Western Jurisdiction.”

“We’re monitoring multiple areas in Washington State and Idaho gathering as much information as possible” said Kathy Bryson. “We’ll continue to coordinate information and potential responses with other relief organizations and local agencies. We hope to understand what the needs are, when they’re needed, and how we might be able to respond."

Dan Moseler, Oregon-Idaho Conference: A report was requested but not received by Insight’s deadline.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Times also reported: “In Oregon, walls of flame moved with tremendous speed, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing residents to flee down roads with flames on both sides. More than 80,000 people are under evacuation notice.”

The Guardian reported Sept. 11: “Oregon fires force 500,000 to evacuate as blazes across American west kill 15. Unprecedented fire conditions burn more than 900,000 acres. Firefighting resources are stretched thin in three states.”

Sonja Edd-Bennett, California-Nevada Conference: Ms. Edd-Bennett’s automated e-mail said she was working the CZU Lightening Complex Fire. Attempts to reach her by cell phone and text messages said service to that area was unavailable.

Regarding the northern California fires, Jon Allsop of the Columbia Journalism Review’s “On the Media” column wrote: “On Wednesday (Sept. 9), the sky over the Bay Area turned orange. The visual was alien, yet the cause—rampant wildfires, accelerated by climate change—was very much a this-world problem. ‘Some folks said it felt like living on the next planet over, the red one,’ Steve Rubenstein and Michael Cabanatuan wrote on the front page of yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle. ‘Others said it was like a solar eclipse, but longer, or the apocalypse, but less biblical.”

Dawn Skerritt, Mountain Sky Conference: We are in planning phases in various communities.  Probably what’s most important to highlight for us is that we are ready to respond where invited to do so.