Email to Friend
LOS ANGELES: Fighting fires is outreach for Sierra Madre priest
Shifting weather patterns make for 'a dangerous day'
Bamberger, a priest for 28 years and a volunteer firefighter for 20, had spent the last several days juggling both vocations.
While praying for families of two firefighters killed battling the blaze, he also substituted briefly as acting fire captain and served as volunteer battalion chief in Sierra Madre, about 20 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
His Chevy Suburban was parked at the curb outside his office at the Church of the Ascension, loaded with fire-fighting gear in readiness in case "I have to go physically fight the fire," he said.
He also fielded concerns from anxious residents and helped coordinate contingency plans with local city officials should evacuation become necessary. The fire had already destroyed at least 50 homes and forced evacuations of residents from more than 10,000 others in Los Angeles County.
"We're in a wait-and-see mode," said Bamberger, during a telephone interview. "The fire would appear to be moving in our direction. I've been dealing with a lot of concerns in the community about that."
Record triple-digit heat in some areas and shifting weather patterns also made it "a dangerous day, a critical day in terms of being cautious because the weather patterns are changing and that can mean changes in the fire's behavior," he added.
Ash rained down and thick smoke blanketed Southern California communities. Hopeful meteorologists predicted possible rain; fire officials offered optimistic estimates that the Station Fire, blazing over the weekend with only five percent containment, might be under control within two weeks.
The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles has congregations located in several areas threatened by fire, including Sierra Madre, Tujunga, Glendale, La Crescenta and Yucaipa. No damage has so far been reported at any of the churches.
Poor air quality forced students at several Episcopal schools indoors during recess, lunch and physical education classes as a precautionary measure, according to Danny Aribzu, physical education director at St. Mark's Episcopal School in Upland.
"With the ash raining down and the smoke, we felt it's best to keep them inside," Aribzu said of preschoolers through eighth graders at the Upland school, located about 30 miles southwest of two additional active fires.
Those fires, dubbed the Oak Glen and the Pendleton respectively, were burning in San Bernardino County. The Oak Glen fire was reportedly 45 percent contained early Tuesday after burning about 1,000 acres in Yucaipa, about 78 miles east of Los Angeles.
Ken Corey, a parishioner at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Yucaipa, said he was evacuated Sunday when the Oak Glen fire erupted on the ridge above his home. Allowed to return home Monday, he feared another evacuation.
"Another fire (Pendleton) just started, this time below us," said Corey, a 30-year Yucaipa resident. "I'm rushing to get back to my house before they close the road," he said during an August 31 telephone interview. He took the time, after arriving at home, to pack medicine and other items in case he was re-evacuated.
"It's possible we'll be evacuated again. All the stuff I just put away, my pills and laptop so if I have to go again," said Corey, 68, a semi-retired business owner.
In what appears to be shaping up as one of California's worst wildfire seasons, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told representatives of the media on September 1 that at least seven active wildfires were still burning throughout the state. The Station Fire alone has burned over 100,000 acres.
Bamberger, 53, said he had no idea when he went looking for an outreach community ministry 23 years ago that he'd end up as a volunteer firefighter.
"My heart goes out to the families of the firefighters killed Sunday," he said. "Everybody in Southern California knows that it's a very dangerous job and we're thankful for people being willing to put themselves forward for that."
Fire captain Tedmund Hall, 47, and firefighter Arnaldo Quinones, 35, were killed Sunday when their vehicle rolled off a mountainside in the Angeles National Forest, where the Station fire broke out, so named because it began near the forest's fire station house. Four others were injured.
Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in at least five California counties and said September 1 that thus far a total of 14 firefighters had been injured. "Our hearts are heavy as we are tragically reminded of the sacrifices our firefighters and their families make daily to keep us safe," said the governor.
Bamberger said he was initially recruited as a chaplain but in the last 20 years has fought fires in Sierra Madre, San Diego and other parts of the state. Expressing concern for Episcopal churches in Tujunga and LaCrescenta located near the fire's path, he added: "Sometimes you find yourself in the strangest places. In 1987, I found myself serving as an engine captain in charge of protecting Camp Wrightwood," one of the diocese's two camp and conference centers (the other is Camp Stevens, located in Julian, California).
Last year, he was able to help protect the St. Mary's Retreat House during the Santa Barbara County fires. "It was just a few months after the monks lost the [Mt. Calvary Retreat House] in the Tea fire,: he said. "They'd moved to St. Mary's and here they were, threatened again. I made sure the engine company from Sierra Madre was at St. Mary's, protecting it and them."
The support of clergy and his congregation is vital, he said, although adding that his volunteerism is surprising to some. "A lot of people have an image of what a firefighter is like and an image of what a priest is like and sometimes they just aren't the same image," he said.
"Some congregations have food banks or ministries to the homeless. This is one of our ministries, fire prevention and life and property protection in the community."
» Respond to this articleSearch
