California Town Rebuilds After 'Apocalyptic' Fire

Lake County, California, is known for its rolling hills and sprawling landscape, but most of it has been destroyed in the state's third worst fire in history.

The fire started on Cobb Mountain on Sept. 12 and spread over 74,000 acres within a 24-hour period. Many homes were destroyed and 3,500 people were forced to evacuate.

"It was apocalyptic," displaced Cobb Mountain resident Shane Johnson recalled.

His wife, Alexis, echoed that sentiment.

"It seemed like the end was coming because there was fire everywhere," she said. "It didn't matter where you went, it seemed to follow. It's like a fire tornado in the sky, you never seen anything like it."

In a matter of minutes the Johnson family lost everything. They lost their home, they lost their belongings, and they almost lost their son.

"We weren't home at the time, but my son was," Alexis recalled. "He had very little warning. The fire started down the mountain and came up the mountain really fast."

The Middletown blaze took only eight hours to spread 40,000 acres.

Doug Thompson, pastor of Middletown Bible Church, described the terrifying event.

"People were literally driving through flames," Thompson said. "We have one family from our church who was escaping and the embers were falling on their clothing as they were trying to get out of their homes. So, it was terrifying. People were literally fleeing for their lives."

In the Napa-Middletown region, no place was safe. An estimated 1,235 homes were lost and 1,900 buildings were destroyed, including Hidden Valley Community Church.

Pastor Zach Pyzer and his staff met at the church building to make plans to open it as a shelter, but they soon realized that the disaster was headed in their direction.

"There was a firestorm coming our way and the smoke was coming toward the church," Pyzer said. "Spot fires were hitting a little bit of ways from church and we knew we had to get out."

Organizations like Mercy Chefs and R-Ranch quickly opened their doors to provide refuge for the community.

"It's unbelievable. It's amazing how fast people came together in a time of crisis," R-Ranch manager Brad Miracle said. "It's what the community did; it's what the volunteers did.

"It's a heartwarming event to see the community pull together as fast as they did and as much support as they did," he added.

Now the Middletown community is focusing on one thing and that is rebuilding from the ground up.

"There is a passage in Isaiah that says that God gives beauty for ashes and we are seeing that happen already," Thompson explained.  "Through this tragedy we're seeing that God is restoring lives, he is rebuilding lives, he's bringing people back to Christ who have drifted away."

Pyzer shared that the town's slogan "Middletown Strong" has new meaning.

"I believe that with all my heart that it won't just be 'Middletown strong' but that God will be stronger in everybody's lives," he said.

Like many other families, the Johnsons feel that the community has helped them to heal.

"These people put their money, their time, their heart, their soul. They listened to us when we were going through it," Alexis said.