Hume Lake calls for help, prayer

Firefighters are still fighting to put out the Rough fire near Hume Lake, which is currently only partially contained. The fire was started by lightning July 31, and has so far burned over 141,000 acres, and is 67% contained as of Sept. 17. It is currently the largest wildfire in California and there have been around 2,000 people working to put out the blaze.

For a while, everyone had to be evacuated from Hume Lake Christian Camps because of the threat of the actual fire. The family of FC and community of Fresno have contributed prayer and donations to the situation in Hume. The fire continues to burn farther away from Hume, meaning the threat from the fire is getting smaller each passing day. However, because of the dense smoke and bad air quality most of the staff has temporarily left the camp.

The Development Director at Hume Lake, Mike Drake, described what it was like for those who had to be evacuated.

“There are people that work at Hume and also live at Hume, they go to school at Hume and everything there, so for them to have to be evacuated early on, because of the conditions of the fire, was pretty traumatic for them,” Drake said. “They went to a number of different places to take refuge for a period of time that we withheld. Then they were allowed to return after the mandatory evacuation if they could prove that they were year round residents. Then for health reasons for the quality of the air, because of the smoke, it was recommended to us by health officials that we actually vacate once again, so now we are scattered once again.”

Even though Hume looks like it will escape the Rough fire unscathed, they will still miss out on many of their usual chances to minister to the community. All events through Oct. 4 have so far been canceled due to the poor air quality, which means Hume will continue to remain quiet for the entire month of September.

Drake describes the situation in which Hume has had to adjust to the fire.

“We have some uncertain things in our future that we have to get figured out but we can’t figure them out until the fire ends and we’re allowed to return.” Drake said. “The unfortunate thing is that we are in the business of ministry, and our main purpose is to invite people to Hume to share the story of  Jesus. We have had to cancel a number of our events until the first weekend of October, and it may have to be extended longer, we don’t know yet, so that’s a disappointment to us. Pray that this lost opportunity for ministry will be recovered in another way.”

One of the events that had to be canceled was the annual Hume Lake Country Fair, a tradition that the camp has kept for decades. The Country Fair is one of Hume’s biggest fundraisers. It is this event that has helped Hume continue to operate through the years.

The Country Fair is a big event to us. It’s a one day event and it’s very fun, there are booths for food, games for kids, crafts, live and silent auctions, concerts; it’s just a day of fun. It serves as the largest single day fundraiser we do. So what we missed in that case was the community and ministry for people who love Hume and come to the event each year. — Mike Drake, Development Director at Hume Lake

“The Country Fair is a big event to us,” said Drake. “It’s a one day event and it’s very fun, there are booths for food, games for kids, crafts, live and silent auctions, concerts; it’s just a day of fun. It serves as the largest single day fundraiser we do. So what we missed in that case was the community and ministry for people who love Hume and come to the event each year.”

In place of the Country Fair this year, Hume held a $15 for ‘15 fundraiser. Instead of attending the fair, supporters donated $15 or more to support the camp. The goal was for Hume to reach $100,000 in donations, which is the amount they usually raise during the fair. The fundraiser ended Monday, Sept. 7, and Hume was able to raise $165,405.

“It (The $15 for ‘15 fundraiser) went really well. We weren’t sure what to expect because we had never done an online campaign like that. So that was a new step for us, but it obviously touched many people who have a great connection to Hume,” Drake said. “We exceeded the amount that we normally raise during the fair, so we were pretty encouraged by that.”

Despite the fact that the staff members have not been able to minister to campers, they have been able to minister to the firefighters at Hume. FC alumnus John Foster, ’96, the project manager at Hume, thought that this was at least one positive thing that has come from the fire.

“We were able to witness to a lot of firefighters which was really cool,” Foster said. “We’ve had a lot of very generous people donate, we’ve learned to be flexible, and we’ve seen that the Hume community is a community no matter where we are. It’s the people who make Hume, not the place.”

Many of the Hume staff is thankful for the hard work of the firefighters. Firefighters worked many long hours to try and reroute the fire around Hume, other camps, and personal homes.

“We are so fond of the firefighters who stood by us,” Drake said. “We hosted several hundred of them for a number of days. We just have nothing but praise for how hard they work and how long they work. Not only to defend us but to defend other camps and cabins.”

Drake said that Hume is always looking for a chance to help others as well. In fact the Christian camp also supported the children of the emergency service personnel by having a Rough fire t-shirt fundraiser. All proceeds went towards sending children of the firefighters to an upcoming camp.

For more ways to support Hume Lake Christian Camps, visit their website.

This author can be reached via twitter: @fikse24 and via email: Mariana Fikse.