PHOTO: SHMUEL THALER/SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL
Refuge from a Fire Storm:
CCC Opens Soquel Conference Center PHOTO: SERGIO CANO
“You have been a help in time of trouble, a refuge for the poor in time of storm. You have protected the weak during the heat of battle from the blast of enemy attack” (Isaiah 25:4, Clear Word).
Families who had to quickly evacuate pick up essentials provided by the community at the Soquel Convention Center.
T Mark Larson, from the Santa Cruz County Department of Human Services, listens to concerned volunteers.
26 Pacific Union Recorder
Central California Conference
he coronavirus pandemic led to social distancing and the cancellation of Soquel Camp Meeting, and then the hot days of summer brought even more trials throughout California. Nearly 12,000 lightning strikes started 560 fires throughout the state. This danger became all too real in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Monday, August 17, with the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. “Michael Beaton, director of general services from Santa Cruz County, called on Wednesday explaining that they were in need of an additional evacuation center,” recalled Todd Gallemore, Soquel Conference Center (SCC) facilities director. The Central California Conference (CCC) officers agreed to help and opened up the 70 cabins and full hook-up RV spaces in SCC’s Central City to the evacuees. “To open the doors to the community is something that the conference has
