Trained chaplains from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) are visiting relief shelters to offer frontline support and prayers to those forced to flee their homes as fires ravage the Los Angeles region in Southern California.
At least 24 people have died as of Jan. 13, according to media reports, after strong winds fueled flames across forests and brush, destroying properties and forcing evacuations. The wildfire has consumed 40,000 acres, including parts of Hollywood, an area synonymous with celebrity opulence.
Firefighters continue working to contain the flames. Thousands of residents have sought refuge in temporary shelters, where crisis-trained chaplains are providing emotional and spiritual care, according to the BGEA.
“People need to tell their story,” Franklin Graham, BGEA president and CEO, said of the chaplains’ work. “This is the most traumatic event of their life—how they escaped from the flames and got out of there.
“Chaplains will just listen and pray with them and encourage them, letting them know that God hasn’t turned His back on them, that God loves and cares for them. It’s a very important ministry that helps them emotionally and spiritually.”
Samaritan’s Purse, another charity led by Graham, is preparing to deploy aid relief, including trucks, equipment, and supplies, once local officials declare fire-ravaged areas safe. This process could take up to two weeks, depending on conditions.
“The first thing we’ll do is offer homeowners assistance if they want it,” Graham said, referring to Samaritan’s Purse relief efforts. “We’ll help sift through the ashes. That takes a team of people going through one part of the house, sifting through every square inch of ashes on the ground.”
The BGEA has issued a prayer request for those affected by the fires, as well as for first responders and chaplains working in shelters. “Pray for the hundreds of thousands of people affected and for the firefighters and first responders during this terrible crisis,” Graham urged on social media.
One of the hardest-hit areas is the affluent Palisades, about 20 miles west of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Fire Department reported that as of 7 a.m. on Jan. 13, only 14% of the 23,713 acres burning there had been contained. A curfew remains in place from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. An Associated Press report stated that 1,000 structures have been destroyed in that area alone.
“The images coming out of California look like scenes out of a Hollywood movie—yet they show the real-life horror that the people of the Los Angeles area are experiencing today. There’s been so much devastation already, and the fires continue to burn,” said Josh Holland, international director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team.
“We are assessing the needs of those who have been displaced by the largest fire this city has ever seen.”
