wfn.org | United Methodists respond to New Mexico fires

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

May 16, 2000 News media contact: Linda Green·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{238}

By Julianne McAchran*

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (UMNS) - As forest fires continue to rage in northern New
Mexico, United Methodists are helping with the immediate needs of displaced
residents and assessing how the church can provide long-term assistance to
families whose homes have been damaged or destroyed.

Some 18,000 people in the city of Los Alamos and the nearby towns of
Espanola and White Rock were evacuated from their homes because of a fire
that has been burning since May 4. 

The fire began as a prescribed burn set by the National Park Service at
Dandelier National Monument in Los Alamos. Heavy winds and dry weather
quickly fanned the flames, and the fire soon was raging out of control. The
residents were evacuated May 10 as fire threatened the city.

An estimated 191 homes have been destroyed, and roughly 260 are damaged. At
least 41,000 acres have been burned. As of May 15, an estimated 5 percent of
the fire was reported to be "contained."

Faith-based and voluntary agencies are responding to the needs of evacuees.
They report that financial donations instead of materials are much needed.
Material donations have filled two large warehouses and are inside trailer
trucks awaiting storage. 

The United Methodist Committee on Relief's emergency service office is
preparing to offer grief-counseling workshops as needed for children and
adults whose families have lost their homes in the fire, according to Tom
Hazelwood, UMCOR's disaster response coordinator.

UMCOR is working closely with Bishop Alfred Norris, who leads the church's
Northwest Texas-New Mexico Area, as well as the New Mexico Conference's
disaster relief coordinator and other officials to identify and assist fire
victims whose needs are not being met by insurance or other sources.
 
Norris and conference disaster response officials were scheduled to meet May
16 to develop strategies and determine how to meet long-term needs. The
bishop said he hopes to visit the affected areas May 18. 

"Prayers are solicited," Norris said. "In the very near future, a lot of
counseling will be needed to help address the emotional and psychological
trauma experienced by families affected by this disaster. UMCOR is prepared
and willing to be available for such counseling."

Some of the evacuees were initially housed in a dormitory at McCurdy School,
a national mission institution of the United Methodist Board of Global
Ministries in Espanola. Most of those families have found temporary housing
with relatives, school staff reported.  Some evacuees could return to their
homes by May 19. 

The United Methodist Church in White Rock, N.M., was used as a feeding post
for firefighters, until it also had to be evacuated. 

Residents in White Rock were allowed to return to the area after being
evacuated due to threats from the Cerro Grande fire near Los Alamos, N.M. 
The Rev. Don Holladay, pastor of St. John's United Methodist Church in Santa
Fe, N.M., reported that Church World Service is sending 1,500 personal care
kits to the church to be distributed to those who need them. The relief
organization also sent 1,000 health kits to the Santa Fe Chapter of the
American Red Cross for the evacuees.

In a state without a history of large-scale disasters, the fires have
challenged emergency management officials, police and firefighters,
religious organizations and the American Red Cross, according to news
reports.

Fire crews were successful in containing two large fires in New Mexico on
May 15. However, six other large fires were still burning in Arizona, New
Mexico, Florida and Texas.

Initial reports indicate that no United Methodist churches or church
facilities in Los Alamos sustained significant damage.

But the Sacramento Methodist Assembly, a camping facility 30 miles south of
Cloudcroft in southern New Mexico, received minor damage from a fire
believed to have been caused by downed power lines. The fire has been 50
percent contained after burning 20,700 acres.

Fire Officer Mary Stuever said full containment was expected May 16. The
fire reportedly destroyed 20 homes. It also burned within 10 feet of the
camp's lodge and came close to other structures. Trees surrounding camp
facilities were "burned to the core," a camp staff member reported, but
there has been no major property damage. A memorial gazebo, built in memory
of Erin Flowers and located amid the charred trees, is still standing.

"Through the wind currents of this powerful force of God, not clearly
understood, the gazebo in memory of my daughter is still standing while the
surrounding forest is consumed," said the Rev. Phyllis Jean Flowers, a
pastor in Albuquerque.

Members of First United Methodist Church of Los Alamos who work at the
Emergency Operations Center verified that the church building and parsonage
escaped fire damage, said the Rev. Barry Dickens, pastor.

Dickens, whose family was among those forced to evacuate, is at Glorieta
Conference Center, a Baptist facility in northern New Mexico. There, nine
families from the church and many others are being housed at no charge.

Donations to help with the relief and recovery may be sent to "Domestic
Disaster Response" Advance #901670-1; checks should be designated for "New
Mexico Fires." Checks can be dropped in church offering plates or mailed
directly to UMCOR, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 330, New York, NY 10115.
Credit-card donations can be made by calling (800) 554-8583.

# # #

*McAchran is editor of the New Mexico United Methodist Reporter, the
newspaper of the Northwest Texas-New Mexico Area.

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
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