Driving into Lake Lure, North Carolina, on Wednesday morning, Jeff Naber was struck by the sight of firefighters sleeping on the side of two-lane Highway 9.
“There were guys on cots with their heads covered with pillows. They’re sleeping right next to their firetrucks right next to the highway,” said Naber, manager of chaplain development and ministry relations for the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. “I hadn’t seen that before.
“How tired do you have to be to sleep right next to the highway on a cot?”
Weary, yet in position to fight the ongoing wildfires in Western North Carolina at a moment’s notice, the firefighters are one of several groups that Naber and additional Rapid Response Team chaplains will minister to in the coming days.
A total of eight crisis-trained chaplains were in the area by Thursday morning to offer emotional and spiritual care to first responders and the community in Lake Lure, which is roughly two hours west of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association headquarters in Charlotte.
The chaplains will be based at the Incident Command Center that is set up in Lake Lure. The Rapid Response Team’s Mobile Ministry Center also will be on-site.
“It’s a great opportunity to reach out, and we’re going to be living and working right in the same camp as the firefighters,” said Naber, who worked in law enforcement in nearby Hendersonville before joining the Rapid Response Team. “I think that’s going to provide some great ministry opportunities.”
Since late October, wildfires have burned in the dry, western region of North Carolina. As many as 20 blazes have been reported, impacting upwards of 44,000 acres. Officials believe the fire is manmade, although they have yet to determine whether it was accidental or intentional. An estimated 1,000 people have been evacuated, but there have been no reported fatalities.
Earlier this week, Gov. Pat McCrory told reporters these are “California wildfires in North Carolina.” The affected counties of Clay, Graham, Macon and Swain have been under extreme drought conditions, while a severe drought exists in nearby Rutherford County.
“This is a major challenge, and the predictions are we could have these challenges through March based upon the predicted dry weather conditions,” McCrory said on Monday after visiting Lake Lure and the Party Rock area. “We’re hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.”
The chaplains will be on hand in Rutherford to help first responders and community members emotionally and spiritually as they process the active fires. The fire has spread over almost 5,000 acres in Lake Lure, notably on Party Rock, a destination on a trail in Chimney Rock State Park. A thousand personnel, including 600 firefighters, have been battling the blaze.
“We know from other deployments that [the firefighters are] brave. They usually don’t show any kind of physical ailments or weariness to each other or emotional weariness to each other and they certainly don’t discuss their spiritual weariness. But this type of work is going to grind on you and can affect all three aspects of our lives,” Naber said, referring to emotional, physical and spiritual aspects. “Through all the camaraderie that goes on in a situation like that, we just hope that we can show them that God loves them.
“We know God always creates those opportunities where we can share Christ with even one person.”
