‘The woods exploded’ amid pastor’s fire rescue (Baptist Press)
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MAGALIA, Calif. (BP) — When the deadliest wildfire in state history struck the Northern California town of Magalia, pastor Doug Crowder didn’t get to preach his Veterans Day sermon about risking death to save others. But he got to live it.
With the Camp Fire speeding toward Magalia in the early hours of the morning Nov. 9, Crowder, pastor of Magalia Pines Baptist Church, was loading into vehicles about 30 people who had been unable to evacuate the town. They had taken shelter at the church building with him and four other church members. “We were in the driveway planning to leave,” Crowder told Baptist Press through tears, “and the entire world erupted.”
