As the fires spread during the worst season of wildfires in California’s history — so do the community’s needs.
Mike Bivins, director of disaster relief for the California Southern Baptist Convention, said teams have been providing meals to evacuated families in Monterey, offering personal property recovery services to more than 1,000 homeowners in and around Napa, working with the American Red Cross to serve communities near Fresno and are currently on standby to provide assistance to communities all the way from San Diego County up to the Oregon border.
However, with the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face aid has looked a bit different than usual. Bivins said disaster relief teams have been challenged to find ways to meet urgent physical and spiritual needs while maintaining physical distance.
But they do what they can including providing water, snacks, gift cards, temporary evacuation points and coordinating with other organizations working the disaster.
Specific to the Creek Fire, Bivins said local churches are sharing the responsibility of preparing and delivering meals as the fires continue to spread, and California’s disaster relief feeding teams are on standby with a mobile kitchen.
Greg Kilgore, pastor of First Baptist Church in Oakhurst, who has had to leave his home, as has most of his congregation said “I cannot express enough appreciation for the help we are receiving.”