Michael Bamberger, priest and firefighter, sent an email to Susan Russell. I reproduce here what she posted.
It is about 155,000 acres and at 44% containment – the biggest fire in Los Angeles County in recorded history. Every major watershed in the Los Angeles basin has been burned out. The most visited National Forest available to an urban population in the United States will be unavailable for who knows how long, Two firefighters have died and dozens have been injured. Civilian injuries have been limited, thankfully, and most were due to people refusing to evacuate
as advised. 64 homes and several businesses have been lost. It will take years for us to calculate the losses, and centuries for the forest to recover.
And we’re not “out of the woods” yet. There is still an awful lot of open “line” and some of the most critical is right above Sierra Madre. The next few days will be critical. We need favorable winds, lower temperatures and higher humidities. And a lot of hard work by the ground-pounder firefighters, dozers and aircraft.
As Susan says: "(But do keep the prayers coming this way!)"
O God, we remember before you those who place their lives in danger for the sake of others. Watch over them day and night and grant us grateful hearts that we may uphold them in word and deed.
--the BB
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