LOS ANGELES, California (ABC4) — Thousands of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been evacuated and displaced due to the wildfires around the Los Angeles area.
In an update given Friday evening, The Church revealed that nearly 1,000 church members had been evacuated, and more than 30 families had seen their homes destroyed. According to The Church, all missionaries in the area are safe and continue their work.
Currently, The Church is unaware of any church buildings that have been damaged by the fires. The Los Angeles Temple, located about 4 miles away from the Palisades Fire line, was closed Jan. 8, then reopened
This comes as nearly 150,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, and nearly half a million are without power due to the ongoing fires plaguing the LA area. Five fires in the area have burnt nearly 35,000 acres, and 5 fatalities have been confirmed.
The Church stated that they have begun to mobilize emergency support for those affected by fires. Including making local church buildings available for community staging and shelter, and mobilizing local and state storehouses to send emergency supplies to the area.
The Church is asking for donations from any who wishes to help, along with a call for any who can volunteer to support recovery efforts.
This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new information becomes available.
The Associated Press has contributed to this story.