COO Edward Graham was onsite recently to see the ongoing work.
Edward Graham, COO of Samaritan’s Purse, was in California from Feb. 3-5 to encourage volunteers, homeowners, and firefighters and see the ministry’s ongoing work in communities decimated by recent wildfires.
Two wildfires became some of the most destructive in state history as 80-mph Santa Ana winds whipped them into massive, flaming waves that rushed downhill and broke over sleeping towns on the night of January 7.
Firefighters in Pacific Palisades recounted the weary weeks of battling the deadly blaze.
As evacuation alarms roused residents, firefighters fought the erratic, blazing gusts with all their strength…until the water gave out. Then, they fought to survive.
As firefighters recounted the night to Edward Graham during his visit to Pacific Palisades, their eyes were tired and expressions haunted.
“I asked them, ‘How do you not lose hope?’” Graham said. “And some of them got real serious, and their faces kind of changed, and they said, ‘You know, I prayed for the first time in a while that I would make it, that my men would make it.’”
Through his past career as an Army Ranger, Graham has a sense for what these battle-worn firefighters are going through. He also understands why they are so appreciative of the water filtration systems Samaritan’s Purse set up at two fire stations after Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham visited them last week and learned that the water was contaminated.
“They’re exhausted,” said Edward Graham. “They didn’t sleep for days, and they’re still on shift for other emergencies. I’ve been in combat where I didn’t shower, except using water bottles, for about six months…Morale goes up when you can have fresh, clean, and safe water. That’s why Dad set them up at these fire stations—to love on them.”
Samaritan’s Purse provided a local fire station with a water filtration system.
Fighting Fires for Christ
The same motivation drives Robert Bates, a member of Firefighters for Christ and a retired fire captain, to partner with Samaritan’s Purse and escort us into the fire zone.
Driving along the Pacific Coast Highway, Bates described his years as captain at Fire Station 69 in the heart of Pacific Palisades.
Robert Bates (center), a member of Firefighters for Christ, introduces Edward Graham to firefighters at a local station.
“Everybody knew each other and waved,” Bates said. “The weather’s always the same, 75 degrees. It was a beautiful town around that fire station, and to just watch everything, 360 degrees, being decimated by fire. I was in disbelief. It’s almost like being in the Twilight Zone.”
Passing lot after lot, all to see is crumbled, mangled, powdered black and gray. Then a home stands untouched. All throughout the fire zone, some houses remain in jarring contrast to their neighbors.
“You really can’t lead something unless you can see it for yourself,” Graham said. “But it is hard to look at. The devastation is unreal.”
These are the places where Samaritan’s Purse is called to share the Gospel, but it takes hard work to earn that opportunity. Firefighters for Christ have come out every day to volunteer on a Samaritan’s Purse team with that goal in mind.
Graham and Luther Harrison, vice president of North American Ministries at Samaritan’s Purse, gathered with firefighters for prayer.
“They want to fight this fire and take back their communities in the name of Christ,” said Graham. “We’re thankful for the opportunity to partner together.”
Other than providing clean water to the firefighters at stations 96 and 23, Samaritan’s Purse is distributing personal protective equipment in the Palisades fire zone. Over 450 requests for help with personal property recovery have been gathered, and the ministry is standing by to begin serving these families.
Samaritan’s Purse volunteers at work in California.
“We’re hoping the government allows us to go in with the homeowner and let them go through their home and find what they need quickly and safely,” Graham said.
Ford Family Holding Onto Faith
Meanwhile, teams of volunteers have been doing just that for families in the Eaton fire zone, where Graham visited worksites the following day, beginning at the Ford home.
In 1964, Joe Ford’s father bought his house in Altadena for $15,500 with a mortgage of $95 a month. He only had a sixth-grade education, but he worked three jobs to keep a roof over their heads. Joe remembers how they’d rotate between utilities—one month water, the next electric, then gas—but he said there was never a shortage of love in the Ford home.
Samaritan’s Purse volunteers at work in California.
“My dad didn’t believe in asking for help for anything,” said Joe Ford. “If you couldn’t get it yourself, you didn’t need it. Yet, he was always helping other people. There were always folks staying at our house.”
Joe and his wife, Lerna, followed this example while building their own lives in the family home. Through the years, they’ve taken in youth experiencing homelessness, and now, Joe runs a group home for teenage boys. When emergency alarms woke them up at 3 a.m. on January 8, they immediately left their house to help evacuate the kids living a few blocks away.
By the time they turned back toward their own home and belongings, houses on both sides of their street were aflame.
The Fords watch as Samaritan’s Purse volunteers search for valuables amidst the destruction at their Altadena home.
“My wife was telling me to turn around, it’s not worth it,” said Joe. “I was intending to go back anyway and just water the house, and then I looked over at her, and I saw the horror on her face. I had to turn around.”
The Ford home is gone, and looking at the thick layer of ashes in its place, it’s hard to imagine anything recognizable could remain. Nonetheless, Samaritan’s Purse volunteers are well-trained and search for hours in hopes of finding something of sentimental value for the family.
“When you look at a completely destroyed house and don’t know where to start, you start looking for some things that mean something to you,” Graham said.
When he asked the Fords what they would like to find, Joe shared that he has already recovered something meaningful, his great grandfather’s sword from the Civil War, which was displayed in their home.
Joe said it will have a place in their new home too—however that looks—and now he hopes the team can find some of his wife’s treasured belongings.
“I don’t have to get everything back,” Joe said. “It took us 40 years to get it, so if I don’t get it back, I don’t get it back, but I trust God. He didn’t say you wouldn’t go through stuff like this. He said He would be with you.”
“That’s a neat family,” Graham said. “They have not lost hope. Often, I find myself being blessed because I meet some of the most incredible people. They’ve lost everything, and somehow, they’re encouraging me.”
Local Churches Sharing God’s Love
While the Fords are holding onto eternal hope through their relationship with Jesus Christ, others who’ve been devastated by these fires are feeling hopeless. Our volunteers—acting as the Lord’s hand and feet—are there to bring hope in Jesus’ Name. As Graham visited our volunteers working in the Eaton fire zone, he thanked them for coming out to love on their neighbors.
LA County has been devastated by wildfires. Samaritan’s Purse teams can offer comfort in Jesus’ Name to the hurting.
“The church here in California is bold,” Graham said. “I’ve met many churches out there volunteering today just excited to serve.”
The impact of finding any small memento for families facing total loss cannot be downplayed. It could be a wedding band, or a Civil War sword, or a tortilla press that helps a homeowner begin to open up, share a story, regain a sense of hope, and find a sense of closure.
Most important, Samaritan’s Purse volunteers are reminding homeowners that they are not forsaken in their grief. God loves them.
“I actually walk away with hope for this country, for the people in the world, because I know God is in control,” Graham said. “I know God loves us, and I see it every day— even during disasters.”
