BRIDAL VEIL, OREGON (09-25-2017) – About 9:00 p.m. on Labor Day evening, September 4, the Sisters in Bridal Veil, Oregon were asked by local authorities to evacuate their home in the Columbia River Gorge as the area was threatened by a rapidly spreading forest fire. The fire was moving westward from the Eagle Creek area where it started. The ten Sisters stayed overnight in a Portland motel and in the Franciscan Montessori Earth School which the Sisters operate. In the following days friends and families welcomed the Sisters into their homes.
Grateful for the good news that the house had escaped the flames even as areas near the house were burned, the Sisters thanked the firefighters for their hard work, and thanked friends, colleagues, families and their Community members across the world for the urgent prayers offered for the Sisters’ safety. They were allowed to return to Bridal Veil on September 16 and to begin the process of clean-up from smoke and ash pervading the house.
See local articles and videos as reported in the Portland area media below.
From the Oregonian:
http://www.oregonlive.com/wildfires/index.ssf/2017/09/eagle_creek_fire_forces_nuns_t.html
http://www.kgw.com/news/local/nuns-from-bridal-veil-convent-displaced-by-eagle-creek-fire/472696811
From the Catholic Sentinel:
https://www.catholicsentinel.org/Content/News/Local/Article/The-sisters-are-back/2/35/34180