Oregon Governor Kate Brown has invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act as wildfires continue to spread throughout the state.
There are at least 35 active fires, with more than 368,029 acres burning in the state, according to the Oregon Office of Emergency Management.
Parishes in the Northern Deanery of the Western American Diocese in Oregon are at risk of succumbing to the fires.
The Holy New Martyrs Church, in Mulino, OR (south of Portland), is at high risk. A fire has been burning approximately 2 miles away from the parish property, which has a temple, church hall, a residence for the priest and modest cemetery. The temple has been emptied of its furnishings, which have been place in a trailer ready for evacuation, if necessary.
The Church of St. Innocent of Irkutsk in Rogue River, OR (southern Oregon), being threatened by wildfires, has officially been ordered to prepare for evacuation (Phase 1). The latest reports indicate the priest’s residence and private chapel are currently at a higher risk than the church itself.
The St. Martin the Merciful Church in Corvallis, OR (north western Oregon) is not in imminent danger at this time as the wildfires nearby are hedged off from the city behind Interstate 5 and the Willamette River. However, there is heavy smoke and ash in Corvallis. And therefore, many parishioners are suffering from lung issues due to the poor air quality in the region. The Father Rector is fielding inquiries about sheltering parishioners in the parish hall as the air quality in their apartments declines. 10 parishioners in neighboring Jefferson, OR, are prepared to evacuate, should the fire front approach that town from the east.
His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, in His Statement concerning the wildfires in California calls upon the faithful during the current trials to pray to Saint Herman the Wonderworker of Alaska, Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker and especially to our Most-Pure Mother, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.
Below are additional petitions that may be included in common and private prayers.
O Lord Jesus Christ our God, grant peace and well being to all of Thy people in Oregon, and in every place of Thy dominion!
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