Members respond to evacuees' needs during Arizona's Rodeo-Chediski fire
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EAGAR, Ariz. — Thousands of residents of northeastern Arizona were evacuated during what has become Arizona's worst wildfire in history.
Many of those evacuees fled to safety in some of the state's predominantly Latter-day Saint communities. Here, in Eagar, as well as in other places of refuge, evacuees found people willing to not only open their doors, but their hearts as well, to help their neighbors in need.
Two fires, which merged the last week of June and became an enormous inferno, burned through nearly a half a million acres of national forest, Apache reservation land, and small towns — most founded in the late 1800s by pioneers sent by Brigham Young to colonize the area. The Rodeo-Chediski fire has consumed 463,000 acres of pine forest in the area, destroyed at least 423 homes — 35 belonging to Latter-day Saints — and forced the evacuation of an estimated 35,000, including 14,000 Church members.
Despite extensive damage to local communities, no Church meetinghouses were burned.
But as the towns were evacuated, other communities welcomed them.
Church leaders throughout Arizona responded immediately to needs using local welfare resources and volunteers. Church members in the Payson, Snowflake, Taylor, Holbrook, St. John's, Eagar, and Globe stakes donated their time and effort as well as food, cots, bedding, and personal hygiene items. The stake center in Eagar became an emergency shelter for the elderly and those needing special medical attention.
The first communities were evacuated on June 19 as the Rodeo fire exploded out of control, ripping through the tall pines of the Mogollon Rim and sending thick columns of smoke thousands of feet into the sky that could be seen for hundreds of miles away.
On the east side of the fire, about 100 evacuees from the Pinedale area arrived at the emergency shelter in the Round Valley High School gymnasium in Eagar. One of the first volunteers called upon was Denise Gilliam, of the Eagar Arizona Stake. As director of food services for the school district, Sister Gilliam was asked to coordinate feeding the evacuees.
Each day the number of evacuees increased, jumping dramatically three days later as the ever-growing fire threatened the towns of Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside, the area's most populous communities. Thousands of evacuees descended upon Eagar, and as more needs arose, more volunteers were there to help. The emergency shelter was moved into the high school's enclosed sports dome and Sister Gilliam's crew was in charge of feeding more than 2,000 people per meal and working up to 16-hour days.
"You just do it," she said. "But we always had enough help; sometimes we even had too much."
Before evacuees returned home more than a week later, Sister Gilliam estimated that 50,000 meals had been provided.
On June 22, as the emergency shelter was moved to the dome and quickly became the largest shelter of the many around the state, a new need was realized. It was not in the best interest of many of the evacuees, who were elderly and disabled, to be sheltered with the others. Eagar Stake President Steven Heap offered the facilities of the stake center.
But by then the available cots were all being used so President Heap offered to bring in recliners. "The Red Cross people couldn't understand where we could get enough recliners late on a Saturday night," President Heap said. "I told them not to worry about it, just to tell me how many they thought we needed." The word went out and within a short time the cultural hall was lined wall-to-wall with recliners.
"They have a hard time believing how organized the Church is," said President Heap. "It is better organized than anything else on the face of the earth. Things can happen immediately."
That was just one example of countless things done to provide service, President Heap said. "There were so many things that were done that no one saw and you couldn't even name them all. People were willing to do absolutely anything."
Many volunteers showed up at the stake center and worked around the clock comforting and meeting the needs of those staying there.
"At any given time during the day you'd find members from across the stake here," said Bishop Mark Hamblin, of the Eagar 1st Ward. "Many were not here by assignment, but simply came in to see what they could do to help. From day one the local members had everything organized and running."
That service did not go unnoticed or unappreciated by evacuees staying here.
"The people have just been beautiful here," said Billie Deskins, a resident of Lakeside. "They have really poured their hearts out to us. We're not Mormon, but we have even greater respect now for them because of the way we've been treated."
Others shared similar feelings. "I've never seen anything like it," said James Robinson, also of Lakeside. "They deserve a lot of credit. They took good care of me." His wife, Julia, agreed, saying, "Here you find the true meaning of Jesus Christ. I've actually seen the Lord in action here."
Anne McMurray, who lives alone in Show Low, said she doesn't drive at night and had never driven to Eagar before. She arrived at the dome Saturday night after the evacuation order came at 7 p.m. and as she pulled into the parking lot her car broke down. "President Heap had it towed and fixed for me," she said. "I don't have any family, but these people have been my family. I cried when they said we could go home because I've felt such support here."
Not only was service provided to those staying in shelters, but hundreds of evacuees were taken in by local families and pastures were used for evacuated livestock and animals.
Jerry and Susan Hathcock of the Springerville Ward returned from out of town Saturday night to find a message on their answering machine asking if they could take in a family. The next day they went to the dome, looked around, and found the Butler family of the Show Low Stake. "We asked them if they had a place to stay and when they said 'No,' We told them they were going home with us," said Brother Hathcock.
Jeff and Dana Butler gathered up their children — all 11 of them — and went to stay with the Hathcocks. "They were wonderful," said Sister Butler of her host family. "It's amazing how well their four children and ours have gotten along. I'm sure we'll all be lifelong friends because of this."
On the west side of the fire, bishops of the three wards in the Payson area acted quickly to establish an emergency facility as they expected evacuees from the Heber-Overgaard area. The American Red Cross had not initially designated the town as an emergency center, but the bishops could foresee a need. Local members helped to set up a facility at the middle school.
Priesthood leaders contacted the Bishop's storehouse in Mesa and within hours a truck arrived with needed supplies. "We had everything we needed to make somebody comfortable," said Bishop Charles Hall of the Mogollon Ward, Payson stake.
Over the next week, ward members helped serve as many as 400 evacuees at each meal. In addition, food was prepared and taken to as many as 500 firefighters battling the blaze nearby. Some young women and young men arrived at 4:30 a.m. each day to help prepare and cook breakfast.
Roger Kreimeyer, Scoutmaster in the Mogollon Ward, said the youth of the area were the "real heroes of this evacuation center. They did just about anything that was needed to be done," he said, from unloading trailer loads of supplies, 500 bails of hay for evacuated horses, setting up facilities, cleaning the floors, shucking corn and slicing watermelon.
There was also comforting to be done for those who had lost their homes. "The youth helped a lot that way," said Brother Kreimeyer, noting that the majority of the evacuees staying in Payson were elderly who responded well to the young people. "They really helped lift up their spirits," he said. "It's been good for them to be here."
"This community has pulled together so strongly," said Bishop Hall. He related that one woman approached him and said she had always thought that the Church took care of only their own. "I was wrong," she said.
The efforts by members of the Church touched others, too, not of the faith, who volunteered and worked side-by-side with them. Maria Nugent, who served as head nurse and coordinator for the volunteer nursing staff at the Eagar Stake Center, said for her, the experience was a humbling one.
"I know now that when I was asked to come here, it wasn't for me to organize this, but it was for me to learn a personal lesson," she said. "It's been amazing for me to see all of the love and caring poured out by the members of the LDS community. I was surprised by the magnitude of it. It has really opened my eyes and has given me a deeper respect for the LDS people. This was a hands-on experience for me to see God's love through the work of others."
