Samaritan’s Purse Deploys Two Disaster Relief Units to Help Victims of California Wildfires
BOONE, N.C., Sept. 18, 2015—Two specially equipped tractor-trailers, stocked with tools and relief supplies, are on the way to Northern California where wildfires have already destroyed more than 800 homes. These two units will journey cross-country to serve as command centers for Samaritan’s Purse disaster relief teams responding to the crisis.
“These vicious wildfires have already burned up thousands of acres, and they’re still raging,” , dijo el presidente de Samaritan’s Purse, Franklin Graham. “We are praying for those affected, and our teams are there to help devastated families pick up the pieces of their lives.”
International Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse will utilize its network of volunteers from across the country to assist families as they sift through the ashes to recover precious items such as photo albums, keepsakes and jewelry. Teams assisting with the Butte fire response will be based at San Andreas Community Covenant Church, and those helping with the Valley fire recovery efforts will be working from Middletown Bible Church.
MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES
- Interview Samaritan’s Purse program managers Tony McNeil (San Andreas, California) or Jonathan Blevins (Middletown, California), who are on the ground managing the organization’s relief efforts
- Entrevista con Tim Haas, manager of U.S. Disaster Relief for Samaritan’s Purse, who is coordinating relief efforts from the organization’s headquarters in North Carolina
- Request material grabado of the Samaritan’s Purse response to the California wildfires
A team of chaplains from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Rapid Response Team has also deployed to the disaster area. These chaplains will be working alongside Samaritan’s Purse to share the love of Christ, providing spiritual and emotional care to victims and families.
Since 1998, Samaritan’s Purse has helped more than 29,000 families in 35 U.S. states following floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and ice storms. Earlier this year the organization helped people after floods in Texas, Kentucky and Florida; tornadoes in Oklahoma; and ice storms in Tennessee. For information on volunteering or to donate to Samaritan’s Purse relief efforts, visit www.spvolunteernetwork.org o www.samaritanspurse.org.
