I learned today that a large wild fire has destroyed part of a town where my grandparents used to live in Northern California.

Google Maps

Weed, California is at the base of Mt. Shasta and is not too far south of the Oregon border.

The Boles Fire has destroyed more than 150 structures in Weed and as of this evening has burnt almost 500 acres and is threating even more homes.

The fire is bringing back memories of visiting my grandparents when they lived there.

From Google Maps

Here is where my grandparents lived in Weed. My Grandpa preached at the Weed Church of Christ which is to the right in the picture. They lived in the parsonage which is on the left. In the background you can see Mt. Shasta above the trees.

I went hunting for pictures, but couldn’t find a picture of the house and church, so this is from Google Maps.

I did however find some other pictures that brought back some good memories.

Here is a picture of my grandparents cooking on a grill when we had a picnic at a park in nearby Shasta City.

Here I am with my brother helping my Grandpa stack wood in the back yard. Although it was early summer he was getting a good start on his winter supply. I helped chop a lot of wood on the trip as I put my scouting skills to work.

My Grandfather had been taking a photography course and here is one of the black and white pictures that he took from their backyard. You can see Mt. Shast looming in the background. This is also a good example of the terrain in the area. You see both forest and brush land that is very dry in the summer.

Here is another view of Mt. Shasta in the winter time covered with snow. I can imagine that today there was a cloud of smoke above Mt. Shasta from the Boles Fire.

Most of the residents of Weed had to evacuate at one time or another.

I have friends who had to evacuate their home last year because of the Rim Fire near Yosemite. My friends spent several anxious days away from home waiting for news before they could return.

Keep the residents of Weed in your prayers as they recover from the forest fire or anxiously wait to return to their homes.

The church and parsonage where my grandparents lived is in a remote part of town and has not been affected.

The church is part of a group that has set up a website where you can find out more information and also help out. Click on: Weed Fire Community Recovery Hub

Steven