I am happy to bring you this final report on the Mountain Fire from my home computer at good ol' Camp Maranatha. The mandatory evacuation order was lifted at 11:30am this morning for local residents. Following a night of cooler temperatures and rain the fire was knocked down enough that emergency personnel decided to let us come home. Praise God!
Tonight it is cool and damp here in the mountains with pockets of mist and low-flying clowds collected into the folds of the mountain. No smoke is visible and the air smells fresh like it always does after a good summer storm.
I rolled back into camp at around 4:00pm to find eerie reminders of the evacuation. The cones are still set up on the ballfield for teen camp's 7am football game, Kid's Kamp's Tipi is still set up in the bowl, and my hastily constructed sign advising parents to check out their children at the dining hall was still faithfully making its anouncement from the fence along the driveway. The raccoons got into the trashcan on the front porch of Birch Lodge, but otherwise there was no damage to speak of, and for that we are profoundly thankful. It could have been much, much worse. Peppered across the ground are bits of charred embers ranging from the size of a jigsaw puzzle piece to the size of a wallet photo. Yikes! Too close for comfort. It looks liks the rain came just in the nick of time.
Thanks for all of your prayers. During the evacuation, which lasted from Wednesday afternoon to Sunday morning, I received many calls from friends of the camp and our guest groups who were calling to express concern for Camp Maranatha and also to let us know that they were praying for us. Many said that their entire churches were praying for the camp. Wow! I was so touched to know that so many were praying to God so spare the camp. Many others called and offered material support such as housing or food. Most of the staff was blessed to be taken in by the Steiners, long-time friends of the camp who live in Hemet, CA. The prayers were especially appreciated, and it was great knowing that we had such an awesome group of people supporting us in prayer, and who were willing to help in any way they could. The whole experience was an encouraging reminder of how much Camp Maranatha means to so many different people. Thank you for all those expressions of support.
Unfortunately, the evacuation order wasn't lifted soon enough to allow SoCal Teen Camp to come, which is definitely a bummer, but it will be good to have time to get the camp turned around before next week's camp arrives. We are already looking forward to the arrival of the Western Latin-American District Church of the Nazarene Teen Retreat who will be arriving next week.
Lastly, Camp Maranatha would like to thank the thousands of brave firefighters who fought the fire tooth and nail, and at great personal risk, to keep it from advancing on Idylwlild. I imagine they won't have to pay for their coffee for a while, and with good reason! We are all very grateful to them. Three cheers for the fire fighters...
Hip-hip!
Huzzah!
Hip-hip!
Huzzah!
Hip-hip!
Huzzah!
It's good to be home!
7/20/2013 @ 8:00am-
This morning brings with it renewed hopes for rain in the mountain areas currently being affected by the wildfire which forced the evacuation of Camp Maranatha on Wednesday afternoon. I received thefollowing text this morning from a volunteer firefighter friend of mine who is up in Idyllwild:
"Fire laid down last night but there is heavy drift smoke in Fern Valley from a light east wind pushing smoke over saddle junction and into town. The concern is that this east wind will drop embers into Idyllwild. Some good news is that there is the potential for some wetting rain. Please continue to pray. Psalm 62:5 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17."
Today's forecast for the Idyllwild area can be found by clicking HERE.
Although everyone is itching to get back home and resume serving our guests at Camp Maranatha, staff morale remains high. Please continue praying for the firefighters and other emergency personnel who are working so hard to contain the fire.
The fire has not reached the Idyllwild area, and there has been no damage to Camp Maranatha.
7/19/2013 @ 7:00am-
Sadly, SoCal Teen Camp, which was scheduled to arrive at Camp Maranatha this Sunday, has been forced to move their camp to an alternative location in the Temecula area. That makes sense in light of the fire and the evacuation, but we can't help but feel sad that we will not be able to host them this year. We love and look forward to SoCal Teen Camp every year. For me personally, it is one of the highlights of the summer. For the past several years we have enjoyed the opportunity to partner with this vital ministry as companions in spreading the truth, but this summer it was not to be. We will be praying for SoCal Teen Camp as they meet, and we are grateful for their prayers for Camp Maranatha as well.
For information on SoCal Teen Camp and directions to their new location check out their website by clicking HERE.
Today brings a new weather pattern into the Idyllwild area which will be critical in determining what happens in the fight to put down the fire. For a local forecast click HERE. At this time it is hard to say if this will prove favorable or detrimental to the firefighting efforts, but we are hopeful that the former will be true. Reports vary on whether or not the storm, which is expected to blow into Idyllwild this afternoon, will be bringing any rain. (We are praying for a real gully-washer of a downpour!) At least in the beginning, the mountains will likely see increased winds and a risk of lightning, which is obviously a concern to firefighters, but we are all heartened by the possibility of rain. Pray for rain.
A volunteer firefighter friend up in Idyllwild sent me a text this morning, which reads, "Good morning from Idyllwild. Last night we had significant fire activity up in the wilderness in the area below skunk cabbage meadow. At this time it appears to be burning to the north. We have a weather change which has the potential for dangerous down drafts. Idyllwild is quiet and secure at this time with some light drift smoke and ash. Please continue to pray."
More information is available at the forest service website (inciweb.org) and the Idyllwild Town Crier website, both of which are linked below.
7/18/2013 @ 12:45pm-
There is a news conference scheduled in fifteen minutes which will be held in front of the Idyllwild fire department just a short distance outside of the camp's entrance. Below you will find a photo which depicts the current range of the fire, which has grown in excess of 22,000 acres. We are thankful that it does not yet pose an imminent threat to the Idyllwild area.
7/18/2013 @ 7:45am-
Camp Maranatha's campers and staff were evacuated without incident yesterday afternoon. We are very grateful to the Cherry Valley Grace Brethren Church and Pastor Roy Polman for their generous hospitality in allowing some of our staff and even some teen campers to stay at their facility overnight. We have received numerous offers for places to stay if the evacuation continues, and are feeling well provided for.
We are also grateful for the Kid's Kamp and Teen Camp staff for doing an excellent job of coordinating an organized evacuation of their campers. I would never want an evacuation to happen to any of our guest groups, but I'm grateful that God had these dedicated folks here during this of all weeks. Special thanks to Dale & Kim Wellman, Pete & Jane Mergens, Joanna Slusser, Katie Kelly, Dawn Sonnier, Emily White, Tim Dufour, Sherry Christiansen, Katherine Blakely, as well as Dave & Jody Crimi for doing such a great job!
Although it is difficult to obtain information about conditions inside Idyllwild I did receive a text message from a firefighter friend of ours this morning which said, "Quiet night in Idyllwild. Fire laid down. No significant fire activity at this time. Drift smoke is all over town. No one in town except police, fire and emergency personnel. Huge fire plan in place to protect Idyllwild. Will update later in the day. Please pray. Psalm 46:1"
Please pray, indeed!
We are tremendously grateful for all of the brave firefighters standing between the fire and Idyllwild. Pray for protection for them.
7/17/2013 @ 5:45pm-
A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for Idyllwild and Fern Valley. We are in the process of evacuating the campers and staff. Non-local campers and staff will be evacuated to the following address.
Cherry Valley Grace Brethren Church
10257 Beaumont Ave.
Cherry Valley, CA
92223
7/17/2013 @ 5:00pm-
Conditions remain largely the same as reported earlier. At this moment smoke is still visible rising up from the fire in the Garner Valley/Spitler Peak/Palm Canyon area, but air quality remains good here at the camp. There really is no smoke to speak of and no ash whatsoever. The campers are busy at recreation, but in just a few moments the bell will be ringing to wash up for dinner. The kids are having a great week, and we remain hopeful that the fire will not interrupt it.
We are tremendously grateful for all of the brave firefighters who are risking their lives to contain the fire. Please be praying for their safety.
I will be bringing more updates as circumstances warrant. Thank you for your prayers!
7/17/2013 @ 3:45pm-
7/17/2013 @ 3:15pm-
There's another helpful resource over at Geomac which shows an aerial image mapping the fire's extent. Check that out HERE.
7/17/2013 at 3:00pm-
Due to a large volume of calls and inquiries about how the Mountain Fire is affecting Camp Maranatha we will be posting periodic updates here at the camp's blog about local conditions and fire updates.
Here are a couple of other helpful and informative resources:
Idyllwild Town Crier
U.S. Forest- Mountain Fire
Camp Maranatha has been monitoring the Mountain Fire since it first began on Monday afternoon. The winds have been pushing the fire away from Idyllwild, but the possibility remains that if the winds were to shift significantly the Idyllwild area could be threatened. At this time there is no imminent threat to Camp Maranatha or the Idyllwild area. Highway 243 and Highway 74 are open in both directions.
Our first concern is for our guest's safety, and if the local fire department recommended that we evacuate we would certainly do so, but, as stated above, there is no imminent threat to Idyllwild at this time.
Earlier today, local residents observed large plumes of smoke coming up over South Ridge and Mt. Tahquitz (photo above). The fire department has notified us directly that these plumes of smoke are actually emanating from Palm Canyon and, although they appear to be coming from the far side of Tahquitz and South Ridge they do not represent an advancing threat on Idyllwild. For that we are grateful.
Air quality is good here at the camp with mostly blue skies. Plumes of rising smoke are visible to the east, but otherwise Camp Maranatha remains unaffected by the fire at this time.
Parents of campers currently staying at Camp Maranatha, or those scheduled to attend in the near future, are urged to call the camp office at 951-659-2739 if they have any questions or concerns regarding the fire. Camp Maranatha's staff is always available and willing to answer questions and give updates. In the event of an emergency, a Camp Maranatha Staff Member can be reached 24 hours a day by calling the above phone number.
Although no evacuations, voluntary or mandated, are being recommended for the Idyllwild area at this time, Camp Maranatha has proactively prepared an evacuation plan which would be put into effect if the Idyllwild Fire Department recommended such. The parents and/or emergency contacts of campers would be notified by telephone at that time where to pick up their campers at a safe location off the mountain.
Please be praying for the firefighters and all those whose lives and property are in harm's way.
