Review of the Martin Fire in Bonny Doon
Dear Mount Hermon Family,
Many of you have been following the Martin Fire (named for the road near where the fire originated) that was burning near Bonny Doon, six miles NW of Mount Hermon. By tonight, June 16, it will be 100% contained. Few homes in the area were burned, and no injuries were reported. We are profoundly grateful that the fire did not threaten us, as the winds blew it away from us and down a sparsely populated slope. This was a mercy.
Mercy is a mark of God’s character, a mark we as His people are to emulate and extend. Last week we had the immeasurable blessing of showing this mercy to those putting themselves in harm’s way in fighting the Martin fire.
68 firefighters (65 men and 3 women) and 15 engines stayed here at Mount Hermon for a respite from the fire battle. Coming from as far away as San Bernardino and San Francisco, they stayed from Thursday evening to Friday morning, and were back on the fire line by 6:00 am.
They loved Mount Hermon! From their lodging (Pine and Fir), they had a sweet view of the Family Camp dry run for our opening program. You could tell they were totally relaxed and in awe of Mount Hermon. What fun!
These firefighters were very glad for the accommodations, that they didn’t have to sleep on the dirt! Their budget even allowed them to pay a very reasonable price, and Cal Fire was grateful.
We had over 20 more with us Friday to Saturday, requiring our Housekeeping to come in early and turnover 20 rooms! In a three hour window our staff went from knowing nothing about this to clearing the parking lot for all the fire trucks, opening up the rooms, coordinating the housing, communicating with four different strike team leaders, throwing some extra food on the BBQs, and taking care of their payments.
From Registration, to Custodial, to Food Service, to Housekeeping, to Conference Services, to Program teams, it was an awesome display of the unity, servant hearts, and professionalism of our staff. All of this in the midst of a very busy staff training and Family Camp prep week. They are amazing!
Bill Fernald,
Director of Guest Services