Chaplains Responding to California Dam Crisis

By   •   February 14, 2017

Nearly 200,000 California residents were evacuated from their homes after officials learned the Oroville Dam was damaged and could flood the area if fully breached. Thousands have sought refuge in area shelters, and that's where Billy Graham Rapid Response chaplains will initially spend their time upon arrival in California.

Update: As of late Tuesday afternoon, officials lifted the mandatory evacuation order but remained cautious as weather threatens the Oroville, California, area. Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains will remain in the area working alongside local churches and offering emotional and spiritual care. Please continue to keep all involved in your prayers.

Crisis-trained chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team arrived Tuesday afternoon in Northern California where thousands of people have been relocated to shelters due to the threat of flooding from the Oroville Dam.

Situated about 90 minutes north of Sacramento, the Oroville Dam is the tallest in the United States, standing 44 feet above the Hoover Dam. The Oroville Dam plays a key role in California’s water system and has received extra pressure this year due to winter storms swelling the Feather River and its tributaries. Anticipated rainfall in the area makes the situation even more precarious.

When officials noticed a hole in the main spillway, a mandatory evacuation was ordered this weekend as a preemptive safety strike, and 188,000 people were forced to leave their homes. The possibility of catastrophic flooding meant a hasty exit for homeowners. That means in many cases important things like medicines were left behind, adding more stress to an already alarming event.

“It’s definitely traumatic because the evacuation order was very sudden and unexpected,” said Jack Munday, international director of the Rapid Response Team. “We realize the fears of the people who have evacuated. I try to put myself in their position: What would I take? What would I determine is of value knowing I may lose my home and everything in it?

“So it’s the fear, it’s the unknown. The storm hasn’t actually happened yet so there’s anxiety there of wanting to go back home and not being allowed to do so.”

The Rapid Response chaplains are planning to assess opportunities for ministry upon arrival and have been in touch with local churches and agencies from neighboring Chico, Grass Valley and Yuba City. The chaplains will offer emotional and spiritual care alongside these churches, notably sharing the love of Christ by listening to worried residents who aren’t sure when, or even if, they’re going home.

“We’ve already communicated with church leaders representing these areas that are there,” Munday said. “They’re asking for our assistance and support. I believe the Lord is giving people a heart to have a sense of identifying with what people are going through and a compassion to serve them and help them.

“It’s a great time for the church to be the church, a great opportunity to reach out.”

Please pray for displaced residents during this uncertain time and that repairs would be made swiftly so a tragedy can be averted.

Water continued to run down the main spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday. The water level has dropped behind the nation’s tallest dam, but officials are still cautious about the risk of a catastrophic spillway collapse.