The photos from Los Angeles are devastating, blocks and blocks just looking like pictures of Dresden after the allied firebombing in World War II. In the midst of this tragedy are stories of heroism and helping others. We had the same experience on 9-11 and during Hurricane Sandy, people rushing to help.
Our natural instinct should be to run away from disaster, but there is the unwillingness to let others suffer while we escape. How often have we heard stories of persons held back from burning buildings because they want to go in and rescue loved ones?
This fire has moved so quickly it’s really amazing there has not been a greater loss of life, unlike the Camp Fire in 2018 when 85 people died, unable to get out of the enclave. To give you an idea of the size of the fire, it would be as if all of Manhattan and then some was engulfed. The force of the winds and the drought are harbingers of the future.
Prayer for the Day
Seized by images of fire and horrendous destruction,
We come to you, O God, asking for pity and mercy;
But we know, O Lord, that such terror needs more than prayer,
For we need to change our lives to protect us from such calamity.
Help us, O holy One, that we may not only help survivors
But change our way of living to prevent such terror in the future
In the name of the One who is our guide,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
But fast-growing fires are now the norm. Using NASA satellite data, we studied more than 60,000 fires in the United States over nearly two decades. During that time, we saw a 250 percent increase in the average growth rate of fires in the United States.
Jennifer Balch, fire scientist, and Ralph Bloemers, Green Oregon Alliance
In my career, I’ve never seen an ember cast like we saw that Tuesday and into Wednesday. It was something that I don’t know that I’ll witness in my career again.
Jim Hudson, Cal Fire incident commander
Give ear to my words, O Lord; give heed to my sighing.
Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, to you I pray.
O Lord in the morning, you hear my voice;
In the morning I plead my case to you and watch.
Psalm 5: 1-3