California synagogues, Hillel houses and families evacuate amid raging fires

SACRAMENTO – In the aftermath of the November 8 mbad shooting in Thousand Oaks, California, Rabbi Barry Diamond of Adat Elohim was consumed by the news of the mbadacre in his community. As the head of the largest reform congregation in the Conejo Valley, he was asked to speak to the city's leaders.

Driving home from the somber event, he saw billowing smoke in the distance.

"I knew it was a bad thing," he said.

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Along with congregation president Sandy Greenstein, the rabbi made a beeline for the synagogue.

"Sparks were already flying over the temple property," said Diamond, adding that across the street, houses were burning.

Conquering two conglomerates in one of the world's two torres – one which survived the Holocaust and was entrusted to the temple.

With flames quickly rolling in, additional Torahs, crowns, and the Book of Esther, all stored in the ark, were also grabbed. After snatching his office laptop, Diamond said, "We walked into the courtyard and there were huge flames to the back of the sanctuary building."

The ivy covering the walls and the fence of the synagogue was on fire. Cantor David Shukiar formed a crew and returned to the temple to put out the flames and make sure there were no smoldering embers that could spread.

California, its affected Jewish communities are warmly embraced by umbrella organizations, Hillels on campuses, and individuals – like, Diamond, each have heroic stories of their own.

The deadliest in California history

The fires still blazing in the drought-ridden Californian history: As of Monday morning, the death toll stands at 31 and more than 228 people are reported missing.

According to an AP report, more than 8,000 firefighters have been battling around in the area of ​​400 square miles in northern and southern California. Some 300,000 people have been placed under evacuation orders as out-of-state crews are continuing to blow up, blowtorch winds.

"The devastation is so complete in some neighborhoods that it is very difficult to determine whether there is a human remains there," said Sheriff Kory Honea of ​​Northern Butte County.

In the wake of the ongoing disaster, California Gov. Jerry Brown said the state is seeking badistance from the federal government. Brown's request for a major-disaster declaration from Trump would make eligible victims for crisis counseling, housing and unemployment help, and legal aid. So far, President Donald Trump has blamed "poor" forest management for the fires.

Back at Thousand Oaks' Adat Elohim congregation, the immediate danger averted

The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, he said, has been providing tremendous support for his congregations, day schools, and Jewish camps that have all been impacted. In the coming days, counseling and food banks are anticipated to be provided.

"Everyone is spread apart," said the rabbi. "We are taking time to focus on the local needs and needs."

Adat Elohim staff puts the action on the agenda. Currently, an email system has been set up so everyone can be accounted for; regular updates are posted on Facebook. All the Torah scrolls were safely stored in Newport Beach, where they will be held by Judea Temple in Tarzana until they can return home.

In the relationship of the multitude of issues of the safety of their congregants, the finding of how to be displaced, the reclaimed who won the home, collecting funds, and when the Temple will reopen, Diamond and cantor Shukiar had planned an online Friday night service via Facebook live from the home of the cantor's parents.

"Twenty minutes before getting started, we had to evacuate the area," Diamond said.

The next day on Saturday evening, Shukiar posted on the synagogue's page of the synagogue had been burnt, but that "the temple is in great shape." He noted that the homes in the area of ​​the synagogue were "burnt to the ground. "

Double the trauma on campuses

Like Diamond, Kristy Collins, Hillel Director at Chico State University, Hillel at Berkeley, Davis, San Diego, and Hillel International.

"Their messages are all the same," Collins said. "You're in our thoughts. We hope you are okay. "

The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region, which serves the Chico area, is helping to collect food and beverage products.

"We have been watching this tragedy unfold and feel compelled," said said executive director Willie Recht. "We did the same when fires broke out in Santa Rosa last year. It's just what we do. "

The combination of shooting and the double trauma for Collins' Thousand Oaks students. She spent Thursday helping them come to terms with the tragedies, while also monitoring news of the fire blazing nearby.

"As the director, I am trying to keep my emotions at bay," she said.

There were no clbades scheduled for Monday at home. In the United States of America, Jewish students were left behind, where they lived with their husband and two young sons. Once the winds shifted, they evacuated to Lincoln, a suburb of Sacramento where Collins' parents live.

Resident Chico Fellow David Spector is now holed up in his condo in Butte County with a packed suitcase by the door.

His home is dangerously close to the Camp Fire – the worst of the three wildfires ravaging the Golden State. That fire has so far burned 111,000 acres and more than 6,700 homes, displaced 50,000 people, and claimed at least 29 lives. The city known as Paradise is completely decimated.

Spector first noticed at the North Valley Indian Health Clinic. During the 10-minute drive, feathers of smoke began to rise higher and higher. Having experienced and escaped before, Spector, has a dentist, thing to see patients with afternoon appointments.

"People are going to go home, but I was resistant," he said. "Then they said, 'You have to go home now.'"

In the few hours, he had arrived, the sky turned black. "It looked like hell," Spector said.

He evacuated to Sacramento, making the usual two-hour drive in oven. As in Southern California, freeways had been sealed off and congested surface roads.

When he returned home on Friday, Spector received a message from Rabbi Sara Abrams of Beth Israel Congregation – the only synagogue in the college town of approximately 92,000 that serves about 70 families.

"I want to send you a message of peace on this night of darkness and fire," said the rabbi. "This is Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the month of Kislev, which is the month of light. And it's the month of glowing light, the light that's in the darkness … We, in this time of difficulty, have to keep the incandescent flame, the flame of the candle, alight in our hearts. "

Family on the run

Elsewhere in Southern California, the "incandescent flame" was less metaphorical.

Fires continued to rage, chasing 22-year-old Matt Stein, his parents, and his girlfriend – all of whom live in Newbury Park, located within the municipality of Thousand Oaks – from one safe haven to another.

Where they had sought refuge, the Woolsey Fire had arrived in full strength, so far claiming more than 80,000 acres, tens of thousands more than the 4,500 acres currently lost to the Hill Fire.

Later that night, he and his girlfriend were awakened by his parents at 3:30 AM with the words, "We have to leave now."

Exhausted from a 24 hours harrowing, Stein could only think of grab some clothes and his cell phone load. Within 10 minutes, six adults and two family dogs were out searching for, and eventually finding, a motel room.

"From the freeway, we could see Agoura and Oak Park completely on fire," Stein said. "If we left any later, we would have been trapped."

In the parking lot motel, Stein could see that the fire had flared, the flames. In that surreal moment, Stein said, was the Johnny Cash song, "Ring of Fire."

Agencies contributed to this report.