After the Flames: Bringing Hope to Wildfire Survivors

Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains are ministering to residents in Southern California—where recent wildfires claimed at least 29 lives and left thousands of people without homes.  

In this episode of GPS: God. People. Stories., chaplain Scott Lasch shares stories from his deployment to offer Christ’s comfort to those devastated by the Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires. 

Connect with us through email at gps@billygraham.org or on Facebook at Billy Graham Radio. 

If you’d like to know more about beginning a relationship with Jesus Christ, or deepening the faith you already have, visit FindPeacewithGod.net. 

If you’d like to pray with someone, call our Billy Graham 24/7 Prayer Line at 855-255-7729. 

Transcript

MUSIC STARTS

Scott Lasch:
00:00:00 Every house you looked at was gone. And then you couldn’t even—the neighborhood was just flat. It was just chimneys, barely standing, and as far as the eye could see, and in all directions, and it was just like that.

Phil Fleischman: In the wildfires that raged across parts of Southern California, thousands of people lost their homes and at least 29 people lost their lives. Teams of chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team have been ministering to those affected. One of those chaplains is Scott Lasch. 

Scott:
00:00:28 My heart went out to these families. And we got together as chaplains and we go to pray in the intersections, just pray over the houses and over the families, that the Lord would be able to just minister to them.
 
Phil: You’re going to hear Scott share about his experience as a chaplain responding to the Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires on this episode of GPS: God. People. Stories. It’s an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. I’m Phil Fleischman.

A little later in the episode you’ll hear Billy Graham talk about the comfort that God offers to those who’ve lost so much in the California wildfires.

Billy Graham:
00:01:05 There comes a time when we must bear our grief, but God is with us in the midst of the grief, in the midst of the suffering, God is there.

Phil: Whenever you need the comfort that God offers in the midst of suffering, you can call the 24-hour Billy Graham prayer line. The number is 855-255-PRAY. That’s 855-255-PRAY. If you’d rather connect with us online, go to FindPeaceWithGod.net. That link and the prayer line phone number are always in the show notes.

Intro: GPS: God. People. Stories.

MUSIC TRANSITION

Phil: When the Eaton Fire broke out in early January, Scott Lasch and his wife were in Long Beach. That’s about a 40-minute drive from where the fire was, but they could still see the smoke rolling over the mountains. They watched the news to monitor what was happening. Now, in addition to serving with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, Scott is also a retired police officer and an associate pastor at Calvary Chapel of Downey, California.

Scott:
00:02:12 You saw some of the pictures of what was going on, and it was just … it is not normal to see a structure on fire. Even though we have brush fires all the time in California—and all the time up north—but, to see a structure that’s on fire, even just one, is not normal. But then just to see the entire neighborhoods in the devastation, no firemen around, just watching the news cameras and the helicopters with fire, just raging wherever it went with no one there to try to put it out because they just didn’t have the resources and it was so widespread. And that was something that I’m not used to seeing that, so it really just affected me that way.

Phil: Not long after that, Scott got an email from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. They were asking if he could deploy with other chaplains to the wildfires. Scott was in. To start his deployment, he was asked to visit the Pasadena Convention Center to see if anyone there was in need of emotional or spiritual care.

Scott:
00:03:04 I remember driving by looking at this place, and I was just overwhelmed because there were so many policemen, so many newscasters, people everywhere you can imagine. This is a convention center, and the whole courtyard area was full. But I remember what happened was the Lord was so good, because I know that where He guides, He provides. And I remember just saying, OK, Lord, I’m going to go up there and I’m just going to try to walk in and whoever it is, Lord, that You want me to speak to, please have them there. And if this is a place that you want the chaplains to come and minister to the people, praise God. But, Lord, use me. And, I don’t want to do it on my own power of my own strength, but let the Holy Spirit go before me.

Phil: Scott walked past all the news cameras and the policemen and requested to talk with the site manager, but that person wasn’t available. Instead, Scott was directed to a member of the Pasadena Police Department. 

Scott:
00:03:55 We started talking and I told her who we were from Billy Graham and how we just wanted to bless the people and provide the spiritual care for anyone that would need it there, and that we wanted to come alongside of them. And I remember talking about being a policeman—I was retired—so we kind of talked a little bit about that, and she just says, yeah, we would love to have you guys come in. You guys can just set up in the corner over here and do what you need to do. 

Phil: This open door for ministry enabled Billy Graham chaplains to talk and pray with people whose homes had just gone up in flames. 

Scott:
00:04:25 We were able to just walk right into all the different areas—the gymnasium, the areas of the convention center, and we were able to go in there and just walk from place to place, room to room, just praying with people, just loving on them. And it was so neat because the Lord had so many divine appointments available for us that day. 

Phil: Some of those divine appointments were simply listening to people and being with them in their uncertainty.

Scott:
00:04:52 They had lost everything. Their entire street had been destroyed, the entire area, apartment complexes, everything, they were gone. And you had entire areas and neighborhoods there in this Pasadena Convention Center in the shelter, just kind of hanging out.

Phil: There was one area that was just rows of cots.

Scott:
00:05:11 And we would just go from cot to cot, and there’s an area where every single person for this long line, every one of them, their house burned down completely. Their apartment burned down; they had absolutely nothing but what they had on their back at that shelter. And I remember just talking to them and they were in a state of shock because it just happened. They didn’t know how to even react. They didn’t know what was going to happen. I remember talking to one lady and she didn’t know would there be supplies later on in the day? Are we going to be able to have dinner, you know, the next day? Can we stay here for more than one night? Those questions hadn’t been answered yet.

Phil: But within a short time, the community came through and helped the residents who were staying in shelters. So much so, in fact, that the shelters had to ask the community to stop because they’d received enough supplies. In the meantime, Billy Graham chaplains offered the residents emotional and spiritual support.



Scott:
00:06:02 There were a lot of questions that needed to be answered, so it was just perfect timing just to calm their heart and let them know that the Lord was in control and He would meet them on every single level that they ever came up with, that He would be there to just to guide them through that process.

Phil: During his conversations, Scott met a number of Christians whose lives had been upended by the fires.

Scott:
00:06:22 And I remember just praying with people, just, you know, asking them, how are you holding up? Everybody was so forthcoming with how they felt and their feelings. But then I had a few Christians come by, you know. I remember a lady in the wheelchair just so excited, and she’s like, Oh, we’re so thankful that you guys are here. And so part of the ministry there wasn’t just asking people if they were saved, which we did, but it was also just reconfirming the faith of those Christians that were there. Like the Lord wanted to tell them, Hey, I have you, you know, in the passage in the Bible that says, “Be still … know that I am God,” and also that, “I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you.” So we got to really encourage those Christians to say, Hey, the Lord has you here, keep your eyes upon Him. And even though you may not understand, He is an amazing God, and He has that perfect plan for your life. So we were actually equipping them to continue to be that light, continue to pass that torch to the people that were there, and to give them comfort, to be able to pray with people. So, it was really neat to see the Lord just opening the door in that manner.

Phil: After spending some time helping those affected by the Eaton Fire, Scott drove through Los Angeles to see how he could help residents displaced by another blaze—the Pacific Palisades Fire. 

Scott:
00:07:36 Downtown Los Angeles looked like a war zone. There was smoke everywhere, you know, in the tall high-rises downtown and it looked like a battle was taking place and just driving through there. And then seeing all the wind damage of the trees and the debris that was still on the ground, it was desolate down there. And this is a major city, a major area where there was restaurants and things like that, but it was a ghost town as far as people—other than the convention center, which was crowded—because no one was really there. Everything was shut down. And so it was just kind of like eerie. 

Phil: As Scott pulled into this next shelter, he noticed the parking lot was nearly empty—but that didn’t stop him from going inside.

Scott:
00:08:15 And so I said, hey, you know what? I want to just poke my head inside and just see who’s there, and just encourage them. And so we walked in and I remember talking to a Red Cross member, and I just said, Hey, we’re from Billy Graham and we are chaplains and we love you guys, and we want to just provide whatever spiritual care that we can for you, or whatever it is we can do for you guys. We want to let you know that we are coming alongside of you in any way. And he kind of looked at us and then he goes, You guys are chaplains? We’re like, Yeah, we’re chaplains. And he’s all, Hold on. 

Phil: The man left Scott and the other chaplains standing in the lobby of this recreation center-turned-shelter. 

Scott:
00:08:49 Then he comes back and says, Would you be able to talk to somebody? And we’re like, Absolutely. That’s why we’re here. Yes. So he leaves and then he comes back, and then he asks us to come inside at the gymnasium area of this rec center. Then he walks me over to a lady, and she was the only lady in this entire facility with her three kids. And he says, Hey, this person asked earlier if she could talk to somebody, someone that could just—knows about the Bible and things like that.

Phil: Scott and the chaplains sat down next to the woman. She told them that she had recently converted to Christianity from Islam. She was a single mom of three young children and had moved to California from another state. She lost her trailer and everything she owned in the fire. She had nowhere to go. Scott and the other chaplains listened intently and then they talked with her about the hope that is found in Jesus Christ. 

Scott:
00:09:42 And it was so amazing because she’s like, I believe all of that, you know? And she was just very sad because her mother had passed away still believing that faith. And so she was distraught kind of about that. But we just really prayed with her. And I remember saying, Hey, we’re going to bring a Bible back. ’Cause this was in the early stages of being deployed; we didn’t have a Bible, all the materials, but I said, You know what, I’m going to talk to our team leader and I want to bring a Bible back to you. You know, I just want you to know how much we love you and the Lord loves you so much and He just wants to minister to you.

Phil: Afterwards, the chaplains talked with that Red Cross member again. And even though he didn’t say he was a Christian, he recognized that the chaplains were an answer to prayer.

Scott:
00:10:23 He said, I want to tell you guys something. This lady came in and she asked for spiritual care, or I asked her, and at that point, I didn’t know what to do because we didn’t have anything as far as anyone there that could provide that care. And he’s all, I just, I prayed. He’s all, I mean, I’m telling you the truth. I just prayed that God would bring somebody. And he’s all, An hour and a half later who you guys are standing at my doorstep.

Phil: As the chaplains prepared to leave, they told the man another chaplain would be coming back to give a Bible to the woman with whom they had just spoken.

Scott:
00:10:53 Another Red Cross worker, the supervisor, heard us talking and he said, You’re only going to bring one Bible? And we’re like, Huh? He said, Why don’t you bring a bunch of Bibles and we’ll pass ’em all out? I’m like, Praise God. 

Phil: From that shelter, the chaplains went down to the frontlines of the Pacific Palisades Fire. 

Scott:
00:11:10 I remember driving down to Pacific Coast Highway, right on the street, and the devastation was amazing. Every house had been destroyed, leveled. They had all the National Guard in the next area. They had policemen; they had firemen; they had press people; they had all these different areas where everyone was staging. We parked, and I remember just getting out of our car and talking to a couple of the national guardsmen, and we talked to the person that was in charge, and we said, Hey, this is who we are and we want to thank you guys for coming down here, and we just want to be able to pray for the guys and be there for anything that they need.

Phil: In response, that national guardsman went and called the crew together. Nearly 100 of them surrounded the team of Billy Graham chaplains.

Scott:
00:11:55 And one of the guys from our team got to pray for them. And it was so awesome to see these men and women bowing their heads down before the Lord as we are just giving them encouragement. And then after that, we spent the next hour and a half probably with just the national guardsmen and the women there, just being able to talk with them, to pray with them, just to minister to them. And it was such a, an amazing time just encouraging them that they had been called from the Lord for such a time as this. 

Phil: Then the chaplains headed to the next area, where the policemen and firemen were located. They all bonded over the fact that the chaplains were retired officers. The chaplains encouraged the first responders and asked how them how they could be praying for them. 

Scott:
00:12:35 Many of them had prayers for their families because they also had been deployed for I think two or three weeks. So they were going to be out there a long time and they hadn’t been home. So we were able to minister to them.

Phil: After that time of ministry in the staging area, the chaplains headed into the neighborhood of Pacific Palisades—one of the areas hit hardest by the fires. 

Scott:
00:12:56 If you’ve been watching the news, this is where the entire neighborhoods were gone. And so we got to go up there, and I remember just parking our vehicles up there, and the devastation was just mind blowing. And I can’t even imagine even one family being displaced, one family losing everything, but let alone the entire neighborhood. Every house you looked at was gone, the neighborhood was just flat. It was just chimneys, barely standing. And as far as the eye could see and in all directions, it was just like that. And I just, my heart went out to these families, and we got together as chaplains, and we got to pray in the intersections, just pray over the houses, pray over the families, that the Lord would be able to just minister to them. And as the policemen would—LAPD were up there—and as they would drive by kind of just seeing what we were doing, we got to pray with them. And it was so neat, because the Lord opened the door to be able to pray with the battalion chiefs and those policemen that were there.

Phil: The chaplains ministered in what Scott said looked like a “battle zone.” At that point, most of the fires had been extinguished, but there was something left … an overwhelming smell of chemicals. The toxic fumes from burning metals and plastics had prevented authorities from being able to allow many families to return to the area.

Scott:
00:14:12 The sun would be out, but you could just tell that all the trees were black, all the, you know, and you could see that there were still Christmas tree lights on some of the trees, how this family were, just a couple weeks before that, enjoying Christmas, you know, hanging out with the family, and now the lights were burned, melted to the tree because of what happened with this fire. As a homicide detective, I have been on fires where people have succumbed to the fire, so I’ve been on several of those. But nothing to this magnitude, just being able to walk the streets, the Pacific Palisades, looking at all the devastation, and it was far as the eye could see. Every single house had been just destroyed and just the chimneys were standing. And it’s just nothing like I have ever seen in California before.

Phil: In the front yard of one home, Scott spotted a swing. He imagined that it might’ve been used just days before by kids who were playing at Christmastime. 

Scott:
00:15:07 You just saw how abruptly it came to an end. And so those are some things that really impacted me, just the sight, the sound of just seeing what was going on, and just knowing the future of what was going to happen to these houses. Would they, would they be able to rebuild the houses? Would the families be able to come back? You know, there’s so many questions that were unanswered at that time.

Phil: So, what do chaplains say to people who are in these kinds of circumstances? Scott said they talk with them about the Lord.



Scott:
00:15:37 ’Cause that’s the only hope that we have in a situation like that. And I just tell them He loves you so much and the fact that we are here and we’re talking to you, and we both come from different worlds, different areas, but suddenly here we are, it’s because the Lord sent us, ’cause He wanted you to know how much He loves you. He wanted to let you know that He’s there for you and that maybe you don’t know who He is, but I want to tell you who He is. And He’s a God of comfort, and He is a God who will take care of you, and He’ll be with you everywhere that you go. Through this time where you’re just, you’re suffering and you’re hurting, the Lord will minister to them and He will meet you in that trial. He would be the one that would supply their needs, that would help them with the finances, that would help them with whatever they need. Yes, the cities were there and the Red Cross and FEMA and all those different things that they give ’em are temporary, don’t get me wrong, but what we wanted to give them was things that were everlasting. 

Phil: Scott knows that God is a God of redemption, that He will bring good from even the most devastating situations in people’s lives.

Scott:
00:16:43 Even though it was traumatic what happened, but it was because of this situation that they had someone to come to them and talk to them about Jesus. So, in many of these cases where people accepted Jesus, this was the same event that took away everything, gave them everything because they got saved and now they will have eternal life.

MUSIC TRANSITION

Phil: Maybe you’re listening and you’ve been through a tough situation in your life, but you’ve have never trusted the Lord. If that is you, I’d encourage you to go to our website, FindPeaceWithGod.net. That’s FindPeaceWithGod.net. Or, call the 24-hour Billy Graham prayer line. That number is 855-255-PRAY. That’s 855-255-PRAY.

In just a moment, you’ll hear how you can pray for Californians who were affected by the wildfires.

Voice-over: You’re listening to GPS: God. People. Stories., a podcast production of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

MUSIC STARTS

Billy Graham:
00:17:54 There’s a mystery to tragedies like this. We don’t know the total answer.

Voice-over: Billy Graham …


Billy Graham:
00:18:00 God meant that this was to be a perfect paradise. There would never be any death. The Bible says that all of our problems and all of our suffering—whatever it may be—is a result of man’s rebellion against God. And of course, Satan is the one that led in that rebellion. But God has provided relief. God has planned a gigantic rescue plan and his rescue effort is centered in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. That’s why Christ came. That’s why He died on the cross. That’s what the cross is all about. And then … it’s a message of comfort. Second Corinthians, the first chapter is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. It says, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them …” There comes a time when we must bear our grief, but God is with us in the midst of the grief … in the midst of the suffering, God is there.

Phil: Billy Graham made those remarks following a deadly fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas back in 1980. At the time, the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team didn’t exist. It was formed in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Ever since then, chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team have been offering hope and encouragement to people impacted by disasters. 

Scott Lasch is one of those chaplains and he’s our guest on this episode of GPS: God. People. Stories. He was among the chaplains who deployed to those areas of Southern California that were devastated by recent wildfires. We asked him how we can all be praying.

Scott:
00:19:43 I would ask for those who want to pray for Los Angeles, that the Lord would continue to just minister to the hearts of those who are there, those who have been displaced, those who are working on the frontlines, the Red Cross, the nurse or the fire departments, everybody, that through this situation that He would be glorified. And we pray for the hearts would be opened to those in Los Angeles. So that would be my prayer is that the Lord would be glorified in this situation, that many would come to know Him, that many would come to trust in Him, even though they’re in a trial, even though this is a devastating thing, but the Lord would use this situation to bring them closer to Him.

Phil: We’re grateful for Scott Lasch joining us on this episode and for all of those who serve with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. Would you please pray for the chaplains and for everyone in California whose life was upended by the recent wildfires? You can discover more about the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team by going to BillyGraham.org and then clicking on the “Ministries” tab across the top of the page. That site will tell you all about the work of this ministry, including how you might be able to volunteer with it. 

If you appreciated this episode, could we ask you to do a couple of things? Share it with a friend, leave a review or comment about it, and subscribe to GPS. We post new episodes with stories of God’s remarkable work in people’s lives every other Wednesday. You don’t want to miss a single one of them.

I’m Phil Fleischman, and this is GPS: God. People. Stories. It’s an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association—Always Good News.

CLOSING MUSIC
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