Oregon fires

I ask for your prayers for my former beloved state of Oregon as they are experiencing the most devastating fires in history. California and Washington are facing the same fate as hundreds of homes have been destroyed, over 35 lives lost as all these fires created apocalyptic scenes with smoke-filled air settling over the Bay Area in California and Central Oregon with smoke visible from space and flames that produced an ominous orange glow. The destructive fire in Oregon was driven by 45-mile-an-hour wind gusts that tore through two towns, destroying more than a thousand homes and raising fears that some people had not been able to escape. The towns of Idanha, Detroit, Mill City and further down in Talent are very familiar to me, as I drove through them annually for our retreat at Mount Angel. Very often I used to stop by to take photos of the ponderosa pine trees that cradle each town, as well as rivers and reservoirs and scenic spots, which photographers like myself look forward to. 

Map of Oregon showing where the fires are burning

While the foothills of Oregon's Cascade Mountains have been ablaze, creating red ominous skies and leaving five small towns in ashes, most of the churches in the Archdiocese of Portland have not burned and many have offered shelter to thousands of evacuees. The director for Catholic Community Services of Lane County, said in his 39 years in the area, he has never seen fires and air quality this bad. He said Catholic Community Services, which provides a range of emergency services, will remain open. "We are in the middle of a hotly contested election, we have social justice issues that need attention, there's a pandemic that's taking lives every day. Then to have this apocalyptic scene — people are feeling tired. But at the same time, it's encouraging to see how much people are capable of collaborating and how important it is to work together."