In a perfect storm of drought conditions, fierce Santa Ana winds, urban sprawl in fire-prone areas and increasingly extreme weather, Los Angeles exploded. The apocalyptic destruction wrought by the wildfire at Pacific Palisades alone was 11 times worse than the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and comparable to the land devastation of eight Hiroshimas.
As of this writing, the wildfires have killed 29 people, prompted evacuation orders for over 200,000, cut power to nearly half a million Angelenos and burned thousands of homes. With iconic landmarks turned to cinders and an estimated $250 billion in damages and economic loss, it is one of the costliest natural disasters in modern American history.
In what just days before had been Altadena, the sound of a motor on one road startled the tomb-like silence, and a lone vehicle appeared.
“You think you’re prepared for what you’re going to encounter, but nothing can prepare you.”
Deep in those devastated hills, a van driven by Scientology Volunteer Ministers (VMs) had been granted entry past the checkpoints guarded by the Los Angeles Fire Department and the National Guard. Their mission was to deliver supplies to first responders at the frontline—water, protein bars, hot food or medicine, whatever was needed.
But en route, the team came across a new fire beginning to spread. “We hit a wall of heat and smoke,” actress Jade Pettyjohn, one of the VMs in the van, told Freedom. “There were no firefighters in sight. So we looked at each other and we said, ‘We have to put that fire out.’”
Volunteer Ministers operate on the motto “Something can be done about it.” So they grabbed the individual water bottles they had originally brought for first responders and poured them onto the rising flames. With enough bottles, the VMs brought the fire under control, to the great relief of the firemen who arrived shortly after on the scene. “If you hadn’t taken action, we wouldn’t have gotten here soon enough to stop this from getting out of hand,” one told Jade.
He was impressed, but taking the initiative is just what Volunteer Ministers do. Clad in their distinctive yellow shirts, they have been out in force, ministering to their community of fellow Angelenos, from day one of the crisis. Setting up the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles on L. Ron Hubbard Way as the HQ for coordination, planning, receipt and organization of supplies, and as the despatching point for volunteers of all stripes, the Church’s religious social service quickly liaised with first responders, civic leaders and fire and rescue personnel across Greater Los Angeles.
One VM, on the ground from the beginning, said: “You watch the news, you see the devastation and you think you’re prepared for what you’re going to encounter, but nothing can prepare you.”
It’s why it’s so important the VMs are trained to confront anything—even a disaster that has left a city paralyzed with thousands homeless, bewildered and adrift.
One woman in Altadena lost her house. Her family had lived there for generations. Now every family photo, every heirloom, every symbol of a thousand memories stretching back over a century was gone—lost forever. Thousands of others will soon find out whether their homes—or what’s left of them—are still standing or not as the barriers are lifted on the burn zones and, one by one, residents are allowed back in.
A pastor confided to a VM that half of his parishioners had lost their homes. “All they have left is God,” he said.
“It’s that huge sense of community. People want to help each other, despite what’s happened to them personally.”
Just as important as the physical needs of survivors are their emotional and spiritual ones. For that reason, part of every Scientology Volunteer Minister’s equipment—always available and never in short supply—is their spiritual tool kit. The sense of loss, of worry and fear—that feeling of utter helplessness—must be addressed just as surely as the fire must be put out and the burns tended to.
First responders, in addition to the victims, are in dire need of relief from spiritual and physical trauma as they run 24-hour shifts, their faces blackened with ash and soot. “You see these guys—they’re tired, they’re hungry, there’s a lot of smoke in the air,” Jade says. “It’s wonderful to be able to help first responders with Scientology Technology and see them come out of it feeling calm and better after just a few minutes.”
The technology Jade is referencing embraces Assists, techniques developed by L. Ron Hubbard to alleviate the spiritual component of physical pain, shock and emotional trauma. The Nerve Assist, in particular, is a simple and popular procedure to relieve tension and stress. Jade described delivering one to a local sheriff: “He was super stiff and uncomfortable and in lots of pain in the beginning, and by the end, he felt so much better. He wanted to learn to help others with Nerve Assists, too.”
In many respects, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers are delivering a Nerve Assist to Los Angeles itself, bringing greater calm and relief to the city and its people in so many ways.
In the few short weeks since January 7, more than 2,280 Volunteer Ministers have helped over 88,000 Angelenos across the Greater Los Angeles area—cleaning up neighborhood streets, churches, houses and schools; partnering with nonprofits, law enforcement and civic and spiritual leaders; providing 19,500 meals to feed the hungry; delivering hundreds of assists; and helping thousands of first responders.
Times of adversity bring out the best in people. One VM remarked that those who had lost everything nevertheless showed up to help out. “It’s that huge sense of community,” she said. “People want to help each other, despite what’s happened to them personally. That unity—that wish to go outside yourself and serve others in the face of this horrifying devastation—is truly inspiring.”
A doctor tending to first responders at the Palisades Incident Command Post at Zuma Beach, after meeting a group of Volunteer Ministers and learning of how they were uplifting fellow Angelenos, exclaimed: “You guys are an actual Army of Angels! Angels in yellow.”
There’s a reason they call it the City of Angels.
Volunteer Ministers are, today, among the world’s most widely recognized independent relief organizations, with over 200,000 Volunteer Ministers on call internationally as part of a global force inspired by Scientology ecclesiastical leader David Miscavige.
