South Hills Community Church reaches out to Southern California fire victims
Relief effort puts Almaden on the map

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

On a typical Sunday morning, you will find Jon Talbert serving as one of the pastors for South Hills Community Church in Almaden. However, as wildfires raged through Southern California, including Talbert’s hometown, helping devastated fire victims became a personal mission for the pastor. He spearheaded a donation drive at the church to help the fire victims, and much to his surprise, the relief effort grew to encompass donations from all over the Bay Area and even from as far away as Spain.

Talbert kept in touch with his brother Brian, a firefighter in Southern California, by cell phone while he was battling the Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead fires, and heard that they had evacuated more than 75,000 people in Lake Arrowhead alone. His brother’s accounts of the devastation that forced people—most with only the clothes on their backs—out of their homes, inspired Talbert to help.

“I’ve seen the mouth of the tiger,” explains Brian Talbert, as he remembers the 300-foot walls of flames that surrounded them. “All we saw was black smoke with a huge orange glow. We could feel the radiant heat from a half-mile away and couldn’t even get close enough to put water on it—the devastation was so complete. Our nature is to alleviate the problem and when we can’t, it’s hard. In this case, we felt if we could save just one house, then we’ve done something. It’s frustrating when the fire wins; when it’s so severe that we can’t do what we’ve been trained to do.”

After experiencing the destruction from his brother’s perspective, Talbert and members of his church organized the Southern California Wildfire Relief Effort, collecting basic need items such as blankets, jackets, towels, toiletries and pet food. As word spread, even as far away as Spain, the project became global. “We compiled a list based on what they needed,” he said. “It just snowballed from there and has gone international. Even people from Southern California are calling all the way up here wanting to help.”

The collection process quickly became a community effort that reached all the way to Santa Cruz, with local schools participating as dropoff locations, including Pioneer, Branham, Lincoln and Bernal high schools, as well as Steinbeck and Athenour Elementary Schools, Dartmouth Middle School and Cornerstone Pre-school.

Juan Flores, a key figure in the Via Monte Homeowner’s Association pitched in by distributing flyers at Pioneer High School and rounded up students looking for community service hours, but was happily surprised that many didn’t show up just for the credit. “Half these kids already had all their hours,” he said. “They’re soldiers. They just wanted to be around people doing good things.”

Soon, local newspaper and radio interviews led to national public service announcements and even a spot on Focus on the Family. “What happened was that our little Almaden church became a central point,” Talbert says. “People in the Bay Area needed a venue to respond to the fires. Right now, I’m viewed as ‘the guy,’ but I’m not. I just threw the idea out there and everyone ran with it. They’re a great team of people here who have gotten behind this. Interviewing me is really interviewing a representation of 100-plus volunteers.”

Almaden’s Gary Baxter, one of many volunteers, grew up in San Bernardino and spent his childhood skiing in Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear. After hearing from two close friends who lost their homes, he felt he had to do something. “I can’t be down there to help anybody,” he said. “So I decided to volunteer my time here."

In the week that followed, heroes emerged, including Outback Steakhouse, which donated free meals to more than 400 people who dropped off items at the restaurant. Costco donated supplies needed to bag and label items. Local dentists responded with toothbrushes and toothpaste, while others in the community purchased blankets, jackets, toys and toiletries. U-Haul also offered the use of three large trucks. “We’ve had quite an outpouring from people,” Talbert says. “Almaden has jumped on the map with this thing. Although stuff is coming from all over the Bay Area, the people of Almaden are what’s really behind this.”

Last Friday, a caravan of volunteers and trucks bulging with donations set out to reach displaced Lake Arrowhead residents in need of supplies, driving through what was left of town after town. “It was like a moonscape,” says Talbert. “There was no plant life for miles. We were driving past clusters of homes with nothing left but chimneys.”

The team arrived at Lake Gregory Community Church in Crestline, one of the few towns that had been spared and was serving as a staging ground for the area. “They were completely out of stuff,” admits Talbert. “You could sense their relief. It was all the right stuff at the right time.”

“It was really neat to see them roll in,” says Dave Holden, pastor of Lake Gregory Community Church and Crestline Fire Chaplin. “We were down to the bare nubbins when they arrived. It was just the right amount of stuff. Without their help, we would never have been able to meet our needs. They loved us without words.”

“We were grateful to have been there,” Talbert adds. “What satisfied me was that there was a huge need and this community stepped up and made it happen. People walking away with our stuff in their arms was confirmation of that.”

Although momentum continues to grow, Talbert explains that the effort was only meant to be a one-time trip to fill an immediate need, but stands ready to do it again if necessary. In fact, rumor has it that plans are underway to send a group of students to Southern California later this month to aid in the cleanup effort. According to Junior High Pastor Ryan Patterson, they will assist residents in cleaning up the ash and sorting through their homes. “We're hoping it doesn't snow until our team can get down to Big Bear and help,” he says. “If it does, then we'll go to San Diego and help there.”

On a more local front, South Hills wanted to pay homage to Almaden firefighters and orchestrated a cookie drop for the families of the many who traveled south to battle the fires. “Things like 9/11 and now this remind you of what heroes they are,” Talbert says. “They put their lives on the line and I don’t think we appreciate that enough.”

Long-term plans include establishing a volunteer emergency response team that will be able to act more quickly to the next disaster. “Shame on us if we don’t learn from this,” he says. “This is the time to be proactive.”

Talbert admits that he feels privileged to be a leader in Almaden, whose people care and respond to the needs of others while instilling compassion during times of tragedy by involving their children. “It speaks to the character of Almaden Valley,” he says.

“I believe hardwired in every individual is a DNA makeup of the God-stuff inside of us,” he adds. “Whether they are religious or not, whether they go to church or not, people want to respond. They are responding to what God has hardwired into their hearts and I’ve been privileged to be in the middle of it.”

Talbert and the South Hills Community Church can be reached at (408) 268-1676.