Sleepy Hollow Fire

Thank you to everyone who has inquired about the fires happening up here in north central Washington State - or as we like to say, a little bit of Paradise!

Here is what happened, in a nutshell: on Sunday (6/28/15) afternoon a fire started just outside of Monitor, WA (about 5-6 miles from city of Wenatchee) on what is called Sleepy Hollow Road. Because we are so dry around here and it's been extremely hot (upper 90s and into triple digits) and very low humidity (around 10-20%) this fire just exploded. Because of our amazing fire fighters they were able to save a bunch of homes that were right there in the Sleepy Hollow area, but then the wind started up and pushed the fire across the ridge tops towards the western edge of Wenatchee and that's when things really got interesting. You've probably all seen the pictures/videos; this fire was an inferno and with the wind it was also blowing chunks of embers ahead and that's what ignited the 3-4 warehouses about 1-2 miles away. As of right now, there have been 28-30 houses lost and warehouses lost and jobs lost, but - THANK GOD! - no lives were lost and only a couple of minor injuries were reported. There has been a tremendous outpouring of support and love from our community - immediately local businesses were offering clothing and meals to the victims; families were offering places to stay; local churches were offing emotional and physical support to both those who lost homes and also the fire fighters. Community pulling together and God's love being shown in the most wonderful way possible.

We will pull through this; this is not the first time our town and the surrounding area has been on fire and it won't be the last time, either. We live in a little piece of Paradise, but it comes with a price because it is in the center of one of the driest places in the state (normal annual precipitation is around 8-inches!).  THANK YOU to all for your concern and prayers - please continue to lift the families up in prayer who've lost homes and lively-hoods and please pray for our fire fighters as they start the "fire season" around here.

Here's a few links to stories and ways to help: http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2015/jun/30/kelli-scott-fire-loss-and-moving-on/; http://www.cfncw.org/fund-opened-to-support-firefighters-and-displaced-victims-in-wenatchee/; http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2015/jun/29/fire-resources-and-how-you-can-help/

ALSO: Our teen group here at King's Orchard is collecting gift cards for the fire victims - places like Target, Shopko, Safeway, Walmart, etc. would be good. You can drop them off at the church office Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. We will make sure that these cards go to where they are most needed.