Breaking News January 8, 2025
This will be a special edition of Breaking News due to the horrific fires here in Southern California.
We are forty miles inland from the Palisades fire which, at the last official word yesterday evening was close to 3,000 acres. There are two other fires burning closer to us in more rural areas but there are houses that have already been destroyed. The entire LA county is under a red flag warning with an extreme fire watch. Strong winds have been blowing, the strongest since 2011 and it makes for an uneasy situation.
We live in a Cul de sac the next to the last house on the street where there is a canyon and lots of old brush. There’s a fire road right below the houses next to us. We should be fine since there has never been a fire in the canyon since the houses were built in the 1980’s.
However, there’s always a possibility of something starting so we have to be alert. There’s one road, in and out of our area, with approximately 150 houses … so we do appreciate your prayers…
If you’ve ever been in a fire, then you know how scary it can be.
I was in a motel fire in the 1970’s in Milwaukee on the second floor of a two story building. It was quite the experience… three responses you can have, freeze, react, or respond… I reacted and ran down the stairs… not thinking that the fire may be started there and door shuts and locks behind you…
We all got out safely but we were told if the fire had taken place an hour later they would have been counting bodies.
The thing that struck me is how everybody that got out was trying to help those who were stuck on the second floor…
My good friend Dave Sweet has been the pastor of Calvary Chapel of Paradise in northern California for about 50 years. Recall, the “Camp Fire” in 2018 which caused 85 fatalities, displaced more than 50,000 people, and destroyed more than 18,000 structures, causing an estimated $16.5 billion in damage. It was the 5th worst fire as far as fatalities in U.S. history. It burned for 17 days…
I had gone to Paradise and spoken to the church there about every other year since the early 70’s. Heartbreaking ….
Dave lived next door to a man who was an ex-fire chief who had just cleared the brush away from his house and Dave decided to do the same. The fire destroyed every house on his street except his and the fire chief’s. He saw it begin, living on the edge of a precipice took five hours to get away from the flames, people were abandoning cars and running for their lives. Images, of course, he will never forget.
All that to say, is that it’s really harrowing if you’re caught up in something like this… This is a developing story, winds will still be blowing today so please pray for us here…
There are stories in the news, but nothing earth shattering at the moment, although Tom Hughes sent me a story last night how Israel is on the highest alert because of a story from the IRIB TV 3 in Iran.
It said, In the coming hours the world will witness unusual scenes and developments.
The Israeli Defense Force has been order to a high state of alert by the chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi due to concerns that Iran may soon launch a surprise military action against Israel…
If something happens, then we’ll report it… In the meantime, it’s just a threat…
Thanks for your prayers, we’ll keep you posted…
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