Disaster relief crews activated in California, Nevada

LOS ANGELES (BP)—California Southern Baptist relief teams were put into action Jan. 11 to aid flood victims after three back-to-back heavy rainstorms pelted the southern portion of the state.

The bodies of 10 people, including a mother and three children, have been pulled from a mudslide in a small coastal town of La Conchita, south of Santa Barbara and 70 miles northwest of Los Angeles, with many other residents still missing, according to the Associated Press Jan. 12.

Scott Harrell, pastor of Ojaii Valley Baptist Church in Ojaii, was called the morning of Jan. 12 to minister to families in the community, where the mudslide was a byproduct of the string of storms that, so far, have been blamed for 25 deaths across the state.

“We’ve had volunteer chaplains here since it happened and it was my turn,” said Harrell, a volunteer chaplain with the Ventura County Law Enforcement Agency, who, at the disaster site provides counseling and helps diffuse such situations as residents wanting to return to get their belongings before it is safe to do so.

Thousands of residents were evacuated due to threats of overflowing riverbeds and creeks, while hundreds more experienced flooding. Meanwhile, thousands of others who were evacuated have now returned to their homes to assess damage.

“We’re setting up a small ‘fixed kitchen’ site at First Baptist Newhall for up to 300 meals a day,” said Don Hargis, director of the California Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.

“The meals we make will be driven to people in the surrounding area who have been affected,” Hargis said. “The Red Cross asked us to do this and they will have emergency rescue vehicles deliver the hot meals, although we’ll be allowed to ride along.”

Downtown Los Angeles recorded its wettest 15 consecutive days since recordkeeping began in 1877, with a total of 17 inches of rain falling in the period ending Monday, Jan. 10, according to the National Weather Service.

A warning on the NWS Web site cautioned, “Flooding is still a possibility, especially near rivers and streams.”