By FāVS News Staff
Eastern Washington
Church network opens disaster assistance center for fire survivors
SPOKANE — United in Crisis – Greater Spokane, a network of local churches, will open a Disaster Assistance Center Friday for people affected by the Spokane Complex Fires. The center will run through Tuesday at Family of Faith Community Church, 1504 W. Grace Ave., with trained volunteers offering emotional and spiritual care, emergency financial assistance and other relief services. Hours vary by day, from as early as 8 a.m. to as late as 6 p.m.; survivors must register in advance and set up an appointment at uicgs.org/survivor-resources, and should bring identification and a recent bill showing their name.
Daniel Geraci, CEO of United in Crisis, said the goal is to help survivors through the full arc of recovery, not just the first days after a disaster. “By bringing churches and trained volunteers together, we can help survivors address immediate challenges and know they will not have to navigate the recovery process alone,” he said. The organization is also launching a Crisis Relief Shepherd Program, pairing volunteers with survivors for ongoing support, and is seeking donations to help cover gift cards, emergency housing, transportation and rebuilding costs at uicgs.org/give.
Wildfires push Northwest Baptist churches into ongoing relief work
SPOKANE — Churches and Disaster Relief volunteers with the Northwest Baptist Convention are continuing ministry efforts as 34 uncontained wildfires burn across the region, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. A Spokane-area fire has burned more than 10,500 acres, displaced roughly 65,000 residents under evacuation notice and destroyed about 850 buildings; no deaths have been reported, and a 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson. Inland Empire Baptist Association Director of Missions Dale Jenkins said volunteers are helping residents with ash-out cleanup and connecting them to assistance at a local park serving as a community hub, while keeping evangelism through the “3 Circles” method central to their work.
Elsewhere in the region, Northwest Baptist Convention Evangelism Specialist Zach Minton led more than 20 churches in the annual M1 mission trip to Leavenworth last weekend, a town not directly threatened by fire but hit hard by smoke-driven tourism losses. Forecasters expect little relief soon, with temperatures climbing into the upper 80s and mid-90s and low humidity through the week — conditions likely to keep valley smoke inversions trapping haze over towns like Leavenworth. Next year’s M1 event is planned for Spokane.
Billy Graham Rapid Response Team sends chaplains to Spokane wildfire zone
SPOKANE — The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is deploying crisis-trained chaplains to Spokane alongside Samaritan’s Purse in response to wildfires that have destroyed more than 700 homes and other structures and forced roughly 65,000 residents to evacuate, ranking among the most destructive fires to hit Washington in recent years. Chaplains will work with local churches to offer emotional and spiritual care to affected families and first responders. BG-RRT Global Vice President Josh Holland said the team’s message centers on the endurance of hope amid loss, adding that God is near to those who are brokenhearted.
The Spokane deployment is part of a broader response effort by the two Franklin Graham-led ministries, which are also assisting communities in Ohio after flooding, Appleton, Wisconsin, after a tornado, and West Virginia and southwest Texas following severe flooding, in addition to ongoing support for families displaced by the war in Ukraine.
Idaho
3 children face charges after vandalizing Pocatello LDS building
POCATELLO — Three children, ages 8 to 10, are facing misdemeanor charges after police say they broke into a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stake building near Idaho State University and caused more than $1,000 in damage. Police said the two girls and one boy entered the building on Bartz Way through an unlocked door sometime between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, clogging toilets, shattering glass objects, breaking other items and tipping over paint cans onto the carpet.
A church member reported the vandalism Friday evening, and officers followed footprints from the building to the children’s nearby homes. Each child was charged with malicious injury to property and released to their parents, who police said cooperated fully with the investigation. Their names are not being released because they are minors.
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