Fla. Baptists respond as wildfires sweep state

STARKE, Fla. (BP)--Responding to raging wildfires Florida Baptists in the past weeks have opened their doors to fire suppression crews and residents of their communities, providing shelter, food and staging facilities.

While more than 163,000 acres have burned in more than 225 fires throughout Florida, the firestorm -- fueled by lightening strikes and arsonists in severe drought conditions -- forced evacuations and closed down major highways, causing traffic jams throughout Mother's Day weekend. Florida Baptist Convention leadership is calling for churches to pray for rain and has requested that congregations set aside Sunday, May 27, as a "Day of Prayer for Rain."

Peppering 57 of the 67 counties in Florida, the fires, spewing acrid smoke into otherwise mostly clear skies, are being fed by unusually dry air and wind gusts related to a number of storms moving through various parts of the state. Anticipated rainfall has come up short in areas directly affected. At Hope Baptist Church in Starke, Fla., in a community where two large fires converged to char more than 18,000 acres, more than 350 firefighters and other public safety personnel and leaders worked out of the church round-the-clock for nearly a week to contain fires in the area.

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