Dozens of people turn out to help after the pastor of a Santa Ana church loses his historic home.
By DOUG IRVING
The Orange County Register
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SANTA ANA – The bitter smell of burned wood still clung to the neighborhood when the first helpers arrived, uninvited, to do what they could for a man who had always shown them faith in hard times.
They bent their heads against the slashing rain and slogged through mud and cinders, carrying boxes of photos or drawers full of clothes from the wreckage of their pastor's home. A neighbor had opened his house to store what they salvaged; someone else had set up a table of soda and granola bars for the volunteers.
John Sherman, a pastor at Calvary Church of Santa Ana, greeted them with hugs and handshakes as water dribbled from the ceiling and pattered on his living-room furniture. His home – an old farmhouse with more than 120 years of history – had burned so fiercely Sunday night that firefighters needed more than three hours to bring the fire under control.
"My goal this year was to simplify," Sherman said. "I think the Lord has stepped in here to help my effort."
The fire tore apart the roof of the house, shattered the light bulbs in a downstairs chandelier and fused a box of old doll clothes into a blackened lump. It caused an estimated $1 million in damage to the house and Sherman's belonging.
Firefighters suspect the fire started in a fireplace at the back of the house. They are still investigating the cause, but believe it was accidental.
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