BEAVER, Utah (OSV News) — As the Cottonwood Fire burns through southern Utah in what officials fear may be the most destructive blaze in the state’s history, the area’s Catholic community is putting faith into action by helping those forced from their homes by evacuation orders, as well as offering aid to emergency crews.
As of late July 2, the Cottonwood Fire, spanning portions of Beaver and Piute counties, has burned approximately 93,918 acres and remained 19% contained, according to KSL News.
The fire started June 22 and has grown rapidly due to high temperatures, strong winds and extremely dry vegetation conditions. It is the sixth largest in the history of the state and currently the largest fire in the United States.
Evacuation orders issued June 23 for Eagle Point Resort, Merchant Valley, HiLo Estates and Arrowhead Summer Homes remained in place as of July 2.
Catholics affected by fire in Utah
Patricia Nuñez, who coordinates the ministry at Our Lady of Light Mission in Beaver, lives a few miles from the areas being evacuated. When she heard that people were being ordered from their homes, she went to help Louise Alfrod, a 92-year-old Catholic from California who spends every summer in her family cabin in the Beaver area.
Alfrod has attended Mass at Our Lady of Light Mission since its dedication in 2008; before that she would drive the 50 miles to Christ the King Catholic Church in Cedar City for the Sunday liturgy.
“Patricia has always been a good friend; she helped me pack” and offered her home as a refuge, Alfrod said, adding that her son called and told her to take down all the pictures and carry the photo albums out of the cabin because “those things are irreplaceable. So Patricia helped me do that.”
For Nuñez, Alfrod is part of her “extended family,” she told Intermountain Catholic, the news outlet of the statewide Diocese of Salt Lake City. “She is here every summer, I always visit her to talk, to play games.”
As the fire continues to grow, Alfrod is hoping and praying that the fire won’t destroy her cabin, she said. “We build it with our own hands. Even Father Valine helped, nailing it, and he blessed it. Now all is in God’s hands. … Faith is important and all people are important; I have a lot of friends here and I am praying for all to be OK.”
“We all have to help each other”
Father Joseph Valine ministered in the Beaver area for 51 years, beginning in the 1940s. He was known as the “doughnut priest” because he would bake and sell the treats to raise money for the missions he served in Beaver and Garfield counties.
Lending a hand has always been important in the community, said Nuñez, who serves as a catechist and a lay ecclesiastic minister at Our Lady of Light Mission.
“We all have to help each other. Respecting each other is part of our Catholic faith, but is also part of being human,” she said.
Father Victor Alvarado-Renderos, administrator of St. Bridget Parish in Milford and its associated missions St. John Bosco in Delta, Holy Family in Fillmore and Our Lady of Light, said that when he first called Nuñez to see how the community was doing, she reported that things were calm.
“But that rapidly changed,” he said. “Her house transformed into a shelter for Louise, and the fire was getting bigger.”
Father Alvarado then called some of the other catechists in the area, and “one asked me a question that moved me. She asked, ‘Father, how can we help? Maybe we can offer food and water bottles to the firefighters,”’ he said. “My response was, ‘Of course. Let’s get organized.'”
“In that moment,” he continued, “I realized that Catholics in Beaver have understood very well the Gospel. In the midst of uncertainty they were not asking what would happen to them. Instead they were asking, ‘How can we help others?’ … This is a community that despite being scared is responding with charity.”
That charity includes taking bottles of water and snacks to the 400 firefighters who are working in the area.
To be with the community he serves, Father Alvarado traveled from his base in Milford to the mission in Beaver, and has a contingency plan if things get worse.
“If needed, I will take the Blessed Sacrament (from our Lady of Light) to St. Bridget until the danger is over,” he said.
More than 300 homes and structures destroyed
Nevertheless, the response of the Catholic community in Beaver fills him with hope.
“I have seen doors open to welcome evacuated people, I have seen hearts open to serve, and a faith that is not paralyzed in front of adversity,” he said. “The Church is not a physical building; it is people who stand united, who share the burdens, and that makes the presence of Christ felt when most in need.”
He asked the wider community to pray for Beaver, and “may our Lord Jesus Christ accompany these beautiful people, pour his blessings on them, and may the fear transform into thanksgiving.”
Alfrod was uncertain if her cabin was still standing, and was continuing to pray. On June 25, a family member took her to Las Vegas because of the bad air quality caused by the smoke from the fire. She was reluctant to go because she wanted to be with the community and close to her cabin, but her health was at risk.
More than 300 homes and structures have been destroyed, according to news reports.
Father Alvarado said he knew of 20 local people who have lost their homes, and fire authorities were looking to find shelter for them, he said.
Laura Vallejo is on the staff of Intermountain Catholic, the online news outlet of the Diocese of Salt Lake City. This story was originally published by Intermountain Catholic and is distributed through a partnership with OSV News.
