Christian bookstores, publishers and authors were impacted by the Southern California wildfires last week, with one novelist's home among those destroyed.

Sally John, author of After All These Years and The Beach House (both Harvest House Publishers), and her husband, Tim, lost their home in Rancho Bernardo. The couple said that they had time to grab just a few items?some photographs, a laptop computer and work files?before they fled the flames about 4:30 a.m. Oct. 22.

"I knew (the house was lost) when we left?when I saw the fireball up the hill and down the hill," Tim John told the North County Times.

Sally John told Christian Retailing that "so many are in need of prayer. In my neighborhood alone, 300 families lost their homes. All of my neighbors' homes were destroyed."

She added that, ironically a San Diego wildfire is a part of her new book, A Time to Mend, co-authored with Gary Smalley and to be released by Thomas Nelson Publishers in January. "Until now I had no firsthand knowledge of such an experience," she said.

Since Oct. 21, the fires have destroyed more than 2,000 homes, causing the largest wildfire evacuation in U.S. history and the biggest forced movement of people ever in California, USA Today reported.

Lori Fisher, manager of In the Word Bookstore at Maranatha Chapel in Rancho Bernardo, and her eight employees were among the more than 500,000 residents who were evacuated due to multiple wildfires in the region.

Fisher told Christian Retailing that the 3,000-square-foot church bookstore, located on the 15-acre campus of Maranatha Chapel, a congregation with 7,000 members, was forced to close Oct. 21

"We were open that Sunday night, but there was so much smoke inside the bookstore that was filtering from the outside that we closed early," explained Fisher, who said that there were ashes on her desk when they were allowed back on the property Oct. 25.

Outreach magazine Editor Lindy Lowry said the fires forced the closure of the San Diego-area publication's parent company, Outreach Inc., Oct. 23. "The power went down in the whole building," she told Christian Retailing, though the building "was never in danger of flames."

Lowry added that the wildfires opened up ministry opportunities for Outreach, which has about 130 employees. "The company printed 3-by-8-foot banners that said 'Evacuation & Help Center' and made them available for free to churches in the area, and several were picked up," she said.

Susan Meissner, author of numerous novels, including A Window to the World and Days & Hours (both Harvest House), told Christian Retailing that The Church at Rancho Bernardo, where she and her husband are on staff, served as an evacuation center. Located a mile from one of the hardest hit areas in Rancho Bernardo, The Church "opened the doors to evacuees and their pets."

"Our main goal is to ease their emotional stress by providing a place of peace and rest for their kids to play while they begin the paperwork nightmare," she added. "We also want to provide a place to pray, talk with a counselor and just get a hug."

Bruce Barbour, spokesman for Gospel Light and Regal Books, based in Ventura, said the publishing house was not affected by the fires.

Look for a full report on Southern California wildfires in the Dec. 10 issue of Christian Retailing magazine.

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