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Faith to Face the Fires: Digital Extras
Baylee Danz looks at what used to be a beautiful forest of tall trees in Paradise, California. “My family went for lots of hikes through here,” she says. Though the fire was intense, she has faith in the power of God’s creations to rejuvenate and recover.
Photographs by Richard M. Romney
Paradise, California, USA
“Rough but Beautiful”
Bryn Davis cherishes an enduring memory of the first Church meeting held after the fire.
“It was at the stake center in Chico,” she said. “Both Paradise wards met together. The fire was on a Thursday, and this was the Sunday after. People didn’t have nice clothes, they didn’t know what was going on in their lives, they didn’t have homes, they didn’t have anything except the bare minimum and what they had left on their backs.
Bryn Davis and her daughter Ellie walk through the ruins of their home. Though they lost almost everything materially, they learned a lot about strengthening each other.
“But they still had their faith, they still had that desire to be together and partake of the sacrament. You had all of these sweet priesthood holders in hoodies and tennis shoes, and they looked as clean as they could but scruffy. Some hadn’t shaved or bathed because they couldn’t. It was pretty rough. But it was really beautiful.
“They were in church, and we were in church, and they were blessing and passing the sacrament, because we all needed to remember the Savior. And that memory endures.”
“Compassionate and Effective”
Another enduring memory is how well the Chico California Stake and other Church agencies responded to help many of the 50,000 evacuees displaced by the fire.
“By that night almost everybody that had come to the stake center was sheltering with a member of the stake, or they were able to get placed in a hotel,” said Phil Anthony, who had recently moved to Paradise to care for his aging mother. “Through the willingness of members to give, everybody was fed, housed, clothed, everything,” he said. “It was compassionate and effective at the same time. That’s rare.”
However, finding long-term solutions remained a challenge. Luis Lugo, stake executive secretary, said that soon the stake president, John Meyer, had received 40–50 calls from people outside California, and 20–30 calls from people in towns near Paradise, offering housing to those who were in need. “He asked me to handle the calls,” Luis said. “It was just amazing to see the huge hearts of these people.”
“Stay with It”
Tamba Sellu says he was impressed, after the fire, with how well members treated each other while living in the hotel where he works.
Jef Galacci came all the way from eastern Washington with a truckload of food, only to see that it was quickly used and that then he was in the way rather than helping. Weeks later, he returned to see how his stake could help with long-term cleanup by volunteering farm equipment and manpower. He said he learned that sometimes help is plentiful while news reports are abound but that long-term needs are often forgotten. “We want to stay with it until we’re not needed anymore,” he said.
Tamba Sellu, who works in a local hotel, said many members were housed there through government programs and insurance companies. “I was constantly impressed at how well they treated each other, how respectful they were of the hotel, and how they maintained a sense of fellowship and friendship,” he said.
“We Each Have a Story”
“It doesn’t matter who you talk to,” says Emily Vail, “we each have a fire story to tell.” Sure, those stories include stress and fire and fear. But they invariably turn to stories of hope, insight, and understanding. Fire survivors know that people matter, that family matters most of all, that prayers and scriptures bring peace and guidance, that they can trust in God, and “that all these things shall give [them] experience, and shall be for [their] good” (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7).
“Acknowledge Him”
The Vail family with what’s left of their home. Sister Vail made it out of the fire even though she was at the time on crutches following surgery.
“People ask me all the time about how terrible it must have been to lose our house and everything else,” said Nathan Vail. “But my wife and children very nearly didn’t make it out. What’s a house compared to that? It’s hard to be upset about a house when you very nearly lost your family.”
His wife, Emily, said, “Not all the homes in Paradise burned. Ninety percent of them did, but that means 10 percent of them didn’t. People often asked if I felt ripped off because my house burned and others didn’t. I have come to love this scripture: ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths’ (Proverbs 3:5–6).
“We don’t understand why the Lord allowed the town of Paradise to burn, but this scripture tells us that we don’t need to understand; we just need to put our faith in Him and He will direct us.“
“We’re Meant to Have Trials”
Drew and Cindy Sypherd advise, “Instead of saying, ‘Why did this have to happen to me?’ we can move forward with trust in the Lord, knowing that things are going to be OK.”
“We’re here to be tested, right? So, we can’t expect that unfortunate things like this aren’t going to happen to us,” said Cindy Sypherd. She and her husband, Drew, lost their home to the fire. “We’re meant to have trials. It’s not like we’re being picked on. I have some friends that came through the fire and said, ‘We didn’t ask for this.’ Another friend said, ‘Well, actually we did.’ We knew that challenges would be a part of coming here. Instead of saying, ‘Why did this have to happen to me?’ we can move forward with trust in the Lord, knowing that things are going to be OK.”
For months before the fires, Drew kept feeling prompted to move to Wyoming, USA. That’s where they’re headed now. The two service missions they have served together prepared them to be part of the “Paradise diaspora,” as some people call it.
“It is going to be kind of weird moving away,” Drew says. “I’ll miss the people, the old-timers, and the history of the town, but we’ll be fine. It will be sad leaving our friends in Paradise. But on our missions, we arrived in places where we didn’t know a soul, and by the time we left, we had made some of the best friends of our lives. I think Wyoming will be the same way. We’ll get there, and we’ll make great friends again.”
Bruthen, Victoria, Australia
“Together as One”
The Collins family says that, because of the fires, “lots of people from different faiths have come together as one.”
Daniel and Sommer Collins were celebrating their son’s third birthday with family and friends in the township of Bruthen, population 81. They were surprised when a government official came to their door and advised everyone to evacuate because bush fires were headed their way.
The Collinses gathered a few personal items and drove for half an hour to Daniel’s mother’s home in Bairnsdale, where they joined 20 other family members taking refuge from the fire. Then Daniel went back to spray water on the property around his family’s home.
By 7:00 a.m. the next morning, the wind picked up. About 12 miles (20 km) away, the fire jumped containment lines. “The forest plumed like a volcano,” Daniel remembers. He turned the water off and left.
Fire burned all day. That night everything went crazy. The entire horizon was aglow. Burned black leaves fell from the sky. In another town nearby, despite helicopter water-bombing, more than 50 homes were destroyed. Everyone expected Bruthen would be gone by morning.
But the fire miraculously curved a horseshoe shape around the township. “By lunchtime everything was OK,” Daniel says. However, as fire crews continued work to contain the blaze, the evacuation remained in force. “Everyone pulled together,” Daniel says, “to provide food, clothing, volunteer assistance, and emotional support.” Sommer agrees that, because of the fires, “lots of people from different faiths have come together as one.”
Salem, Utah, USA
“Miracles Every Day”
The fire in Salem produced a cloud of smoke so large it could be seen for miles.
“On the night we evacuated, I truly believed we were losing our house,” says Kristin Roylance of Elk Ridge, a town near Salem. “The wall of fire directly behind our home was moving swiftly, fiercely toward it. We were told if it progressed as it had the night before, and as it was expected to do that night, it would be at our home by the middle of the night.
“To find out the next morning that we still had our home brought undeniable joy and comfort to our hearts. As the week moved on, with its ups and downs, one constant thought remained. We had been blessed with modern-day miracles right around us! Many of the miracles were brought about by selfless, determined firefighters, caring communities, and loving family, neighbors, and friends. Some of those miracles have no explanation other than Heavenly Father’s divine intervention.
“But I also came to realize that there are miracles happening around us every single day. Why does it take something like a fire to help me focus on those heavenly blessings? Ever since, I have felt the need to try and be more observant, more appreciative for those everyday miracles, and to make myself more aware and available as a tool for my Heavenly Father to perform everyday miracles through me.”
Evacuated families received supplies and food at a storehouse set up through combined efforts of churches, community leaders, and the school district.