relatively unscathed. yeah, we can see that the fire burned all around the churchyard, but actually did not touch the church walls. we ve got some smoke damage and things inside, but it s really quite miraculous. and even the villagers themselves have described it as a halo around the church. if you look at an aerial view, there s a strip of grass almost the entire way around where the fire did not get to the church walls itself. and since that wildfire you have been very much involved in rebuilding the community here and supporting the community, how have the residents been rallying around? the first sunday after the fire i hadn t intended on having a service because the building was still closed, but the villagers said if we can come in and be together and encourage one another, so we opened up the church, had tea and coffee and cake and just let them connect with one another. and you re from the west coast of the united states, so you must be quite used to seeing wildfires like this
did not get to the church walls itself. and since that wildfire you have been very much involved in rebuilding the community here and supporting the community, how have the residents been rallying around? the first sunday after the fire i hadn t intended on having a service because the building was still closed, but the villagers said if we can come in and be together and encourage one another, so we opened up the church, had tea and coffee and cake and just let them connect with one another. and you re from the west coast of the united states, so you must be quite used to seeing wildfires like this on a bigger scale out there. but how shocking was it for you to see something like this happen here in this small village in east london? yeah, it was like nothing i would have ever expected. i did, i spent a lot of my growing up years in california, where wildfires were just part of the summer, just something you expected, although definitely we ve seen them become more intense in recent y
in the united states, but she s agreed to talk to us via video link. so, reverend elise, thanks so much for talking to us today. now, i m standing here in the churchyard. the ground is really, really scorched. the bushes are burnt as well, but actually, the church itself looks relatively unscathed. yeah, we can see that the fire burned all around the churchyard, but actually did not touch the church walls. we ve got some smoke damage and things inside, but it s really quite miraculous. and even the villagers themselves have described it as a halo around the church. if you look at an aerial view, there s a strip of grass almost the entire way around where the fire did not get to the church walls itself. and since that wildfire you have been very much involved in rebuilding the community here and supporting the community, how have the residents been rallying around? the first sunday after the fire i hadn t intended on having a service because the building was still close, but
been rallying around? the first sunday after the fire i hadn t intended on having a service because the building was still close, but was still closed, but the villagers said if we can come in and be together and encourage one another, so we opened up the church, had tea and coffee and cake and just let them connect with one another. and you re from the west coast of the united states, so you must be quite used to seeing wildfires like this on a bigger scale out there. but how shocking was it for you to see something like this happen here in this small village in east london? yeah, it was like nothing i would have ever expected. i did, i spent a lot of my growing up years in california, where wildfires were just part of the summer, just something you expected, although definitely we ve seen them become more intense in recent years, even in california. but, yeah, would have never expected something like this to happen in east london. thank you so much for taking time out to talk to us,
you have been very much involved in rebuilding the community here and supporting the community, how have the residents been rallying around? the first sunday after the fire i hadn t intended on having a service because the building was still close, but the villagers said if we can come in and be together and encourage one another, so we opened up the church, had tea and coffee and cake and just let them connect with one another. and you re from the west coast of the united states, so you must be quite used to seeing wildfires like this on a bigger scale out there. but how shocking was it for you to see something like this happen here in this small village in east london? yeah, it was like nothing i would have ever expected. i did, i spent a lot of my growing up years in california, where wildfires were just part of the summer, just something you expected, although definitely we ve seen them become more intense in recent years, even in california. but, yeah, would have never expected so