‘Literally Like Armageddon’: Critics Say Gov’t Failures Fueled Inferno, Californians Search for Faith

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

‘Literally Like Armageddon’: Critics Say Gov’t Failures Fueled Inferno, Californians Search for Faith

The devastation from the Los Angeles wildfires continues to wreak havoc. The two biggest fires have killed at least 10 people and burned more than 10,000 buildings. The fires are expected to cause up to $150 billion in damages making this one of the most expensive natural disasters in U.S. history. 

Residents describe the devastation as apocalyptic. The fire in Pacific Palisades is now the most destructive in Los Angeles history, leveling entire blocks and reducing buildings to rubble.

“Right now, thank the Lord, I am safe and I still have power,” said TV Host and actress Kym Douglas.

Douglas lives just a few minutes from the Palisades.

“So I go there every day and I get my coffee in the morning and I do my errands. I do my grocery shopping there, and it literally is like Armageddon. The City of Angels has turned into a war zone and everything is flattened. So many friends have lost everything. And the saddest part is they didn’t even have a moment to grab their mementos, their memories, their children’s books and files or passports, nothing,” she said.

On Thursday, the Santa Ana winds weakened a bit allowing firefighters to dump water from the air. There’s a bit more good news too – the Sunset Fire that started in the Hollywood Hills Wednesday night, threatening iconic landmarks, has been fully contained. 

Did Government Failures Fuel the Inferno?

Meanwhile, many are outraged that their city wasn’t more prepared, blaming Gov. Gavin Newsom for the lack of water, including no water pressure in some fire hydrants.

Edward Ring with the California Policy Center says this could have been minimized with proper land  management, including the harvesting and thinning of trees.

“And all of those things were regulated to the point where it’s just such an unreasonable process for property owners to try to do that, that we ended up turning those hillsides into tinder boxes,” he said. 

As for the lack of water, he said, “We could have opened a lot more fire hydrants and had good pressure before we lost pressure. The water mains that go up into those hills and the pumps that lift the water into those hills should be *******. And what we’ve seen over the last several decades is a trend towards sending less water south into the southern California cities and encouraging those cities and in many cases, mandating through legislation that those cities just get by with less water.”

Emergency Relief Efforts

CBN’s Operation Blessing and other organizations including World Vision and Mercury One are providing emergency relief supplies to people affected by the wildfires. 

Christine Hayworth with World Vision said, “Operation Blessing is a blessing. Our partnership has allowed us to do more going forward.”

Finding Faith Amidst the Fires

Worship leader Joel Mott’s home in Pasadena is still standing although his friends in Altadena weren’t so fortunate. 

“Really dear friends of mine that live on those neighborhoods there that have lost their homes and lost everything,” he explained.

Joel runs a ministry called “California Will Be Saved.”  

When asked how God could use such a horrific tragedy as to save people he said, “I think the message right now is everything is temporary. Everything can be taken away in an instant,” Mott said. 

“And so, where do we stand with the Lord and encouraging people to come to the Lord, come to Jesus? He’s going to be our hope in the time of need. He’s our salvation and refuge, So I think that’s my message to everyone, the church and the lost. Let’s have an evaluation of life in general right now and in this time of need, put our faith in something eternal,” he said.

***Please sign up for 

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

 and download the 

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

 to ensure you receive the latest news updates from a Christian perspective.*** 

As Californians continue to deal with the worst wildfires in their state’s history, Christians there are holding on to their faith – while urging others to not lose hope.  

“We serve a God who calms the seas, and He can direct the winds, and He can give us hope even when it seems like there’s no hope to be had. So, I just want to be somebody that people can call, and we can say, okay, this is what’s happening, but we also have this. We know this, and this is when the Lord shines brightest and tends to just blow us all away with His glory and his grace. And I believe He’s going to do that for the city of Angels,” Kym Douglas said.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Literally #Armageddon #Critics #Govt #Failures #Fueled #Inferno #Californians #Search #Faith

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up