LUTHER — At one point on Friday, Pastor Jack Tenney could see that the wildfire was heading directly from the west toward Calvary Baptist Church, located on North Luther Road.

“One of the men of the church and myself went to the church to get some things before we thought it was going to burn down,” Tenney said. “We went there to get our Bibles and important papers. When we came out, the fire was right behind us.”

It was within 100 feet of the church he has pastored during the past six months, he said.

“I was thinking the church was going to go up in flames,” Tenney said.

The men got in their vehicles and watched the fire as long as they could. The wind was blowing and then all of a sudden, right before it got to the church, it just shifted to the north.

Pastor Tenney said he didn’t think the fact that the church was spared was an accident.

“We’ve talked to people in the community and they’ve said that the hand of God has to be on that church,” Tenney said. “When they look at everything that’s burned all around it and just right there the church is still standing.”

Tenney said he believes that if his church had burned down people would be coming to help. His congregation has supplied bottled water and church members are willing to donate clothes, Tenney said.

His church also is donating money, in part from other independent Baptist churches in the area. They included Edmond’s Lighthouse Baptist Church and Calvary Baptist Church, the parent church of the Luther congregation.

Russ Bishop, pastor of Edmond’s Lighthouse Baptist Church, said firefighters helped save a church in Luther. During the fire, at a time when temperatures were extremely hot, a family who attends his church lost power. Bishop let them stay at his Edmond home that night.

Bishop said his congregation offered various forms of aid and he spoke to Tenney, who was already taking steps to provide assistance. Like Tenney, Bishop was concerned about the victims.

“It’s a tragedy, but we know God supplies grace in a time of need,” Bishop said.

American Red Cross of Central Oklahoma spokeswoman Kayla Costner said as of Monday morning more than 160 people have been registered at the four Red Cross shelters open during these wildfires.

More than 11,000 snacks and bottles of water have been served and nearly 60 volunteers have been assigned to various jobs across the state, Costner said. Additional volunteers continue to arrive to support those who have been on scene since the fires began last week, Costner said.



HOW TO HELP

The Town of Luther is requesting that donations for victims be taken to the Church of Christ Community Center, located at First Street and Ash Street in Luther. Donations will be accepted from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. through Friday.

Additionally, the First Bank and Trust of Luther has established a fund for monetary donations. For more information, call the bank at 277-3211.

For those who wish to donate items to victims but are unable to take the items to Luther Oklahoma County government is collecting donations at several locations.

District Two County Commissioner Brian Maughan said donations will be accepted at the District Three maintenance barn at 11500 N. Hudson, at the District Two maintenance barn at 7105 S. Anderson Road, at the District One barn at 7321 N.E. 23rd St. and at the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office substation at Southeast 29th Street and Midwest Boulevard.

Maughan said each location will be staffed from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. during the week. Donations may include food, clothing, appliances, furniture, bedding and toys. The Christmas Connection will oversee collections and disbursements to families forced from their homes by the fires.

“We have at least two dozen of our neighbors who have been burned out and lost everything,” Maughan said. “I would encourage anyone who might be holding a garage or estate sale this weekend to donate any items that are left to benefit this cause.”

Monday afternoon, Gov. Mary Fallin urged those who wish to aid in relief efforts to make donations to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Both organizations are active in disaster relief and are providing assistance to first responders, Fallin said via a news release.

Almost 80,000 acres in Oklahoma have burned due to wildfires that have displaced hundreds of people from their homes, Governor Mary Fallin is ers and wildfire victims in Oklahoma.

Mid-day Monday, Tenney was offering assistance to fire victims at a one-stop assistance center that was open Sunday and Monday at the Luther Public Schools’ auditorium. Tenney spoke with Mary Jane Coffman, lead disaster services coordinator for the American Red Cross of Central Oklahoma.

Coffman said the centers have been developed by the Red Cross within the last several years. Other organizations at the Luther center included the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma Disaster Relief, the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities Disaster Response.

In addition to offering convenience for victims, it also allows organizations to network with each other as needed, Coffman said.

“These people have lost kind of everything and it just happened,” Coffman said. “In a lot of ways it doesn’t always hit right off the bat.”

Coffman said every family has different needs so the best way to help is donating money.

The Red Cross has helped firefighters and opened various evacuation centers. For more information about how to donate to the American Red Cross of Central Oklahoma visit okc.redcross.org.

The Salvation Army asks those who want to help to visit disaster.salvationarmyusa.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY and designate Oklahoma wildfires. Monetary donations will ensure The Salvation Army can meet the most immediate needs of those impacted by disaster.  Donations can also be mailed to: The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 12600, Oklahoma City, OK  73157.

Feed the Children was also accepting donations of water and Gatorade on Monday.



marks@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 108