WELS members safe from California wildfire
Filed Under: California, Fire
Members of Our Redeemer, Santa Barbara, Calif., are safe after a wildfire that had already consumed 8,600 acres and about 80 homes came within two miles of the church and even closer to congregation members' homes May 8. A change of weather helped firefighters get the fire under control.
"The real thanks goes first to the Lord," says Rev. Jim Proeber. "He controls the wind and the elements, so the 'sundowners' (50-60 mph winds) that should have appeared [May 8] never materialized." According to Proeber, if the predicted winds had materialized, the fire could have spread much further and faster.
Proeber and six other families from Our Redeemer were evacuated along with 30,000 other residents in the Santa Barbara area. Most evacuees were allowed to return to their homes the next day. The church and parsonage as well as the members' homes were spared.
"It gives one reason to pause and consider all the Lord does provide and how he works in our lives," says Proeber. "It also makes one rethink what is really important when you are given the warning to evacuate. To him be praise and glory!"
