Southern California authorities lifted the last of evacuation orders Sunday afternoon, and those fighting the San Diego fires will soon get to go home. However, with more than 1,300 homes destroyed, the restoration process is just beginning. Now churches and Christian ministries are assisting affected families.

John Gillette, chief operations officer of Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Diego said church leaders made hundreds of phone calls to their own affected congregants, then encouraged members to reach out to fire victims outside the church.

Members are praying with victims and delivering baskets with gift cards, food, nuts, candy and books. Church members who own fruit companies donated fruit for the baskets. The church’s small groups are adopting families to help.

“It’s not about Shadow Mountain at all. It’s about Christ followers doing what Jesus would do if he was living his life through us right now,” Gillette said. “We look for big programs but we need people just to be light and salt where they are.”

Angela Eiman, director of communications at Safe Harbor International Relief, said volunteers from the ministry and Calvary Chapel of Rancho Margarita set up a base camp when the fires started, and served hearty meals of beef tri-tip to firefighters and the National Guard. Eiman said the ministry is motivated by Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 10:42 to bring “a cup of cold water to those who are in need.”

A boy playing with matches has admitted to starting a California fire that ravaged 60 square miles and destroyed 21 homes. Now prosecutors are contemplating whether to press charges against the boy or his parents. It’s an unfortunate incident with devastating consequences, but he’s just a kid, and all kids make mistakes–even ones with the most vigilant parents. Is pressing charges really the right thing to do?

During the final descent into the Los Angeles airport last Thursday night, the pilot uttered, “The fires are on the right side of the plane.” It was strange to connect the news stories with the rows and rows of red embers scattered throughout the landscape before my eyes. At my hotel I met Paul, a fire-driven evacuee from San Diego. He was leaving the next day to return to a home spared by the fire. Paul was relieved that his home was still standing and so was I. If his house burned, what would I have said? “I’m sorry… God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life…We’re all praying for you?” What do you say to someone whose house burns down?

As I drove from Los Angeles to Riverside on Friday, the sun barely broke through the seamless smoke cloud. You could smell the smoke. After arriving in Riverside, just miles from the fires, flurries of ash fell from the sky.

On Monday morning at around 9:00, I met Maria at the Comfort Inn Hotel. This petite, silver-haired lady was on her cell phone, waiting to hear if her house had burned down. I didn’t know what to say so I listened.

Maria said that she only had fifteen minutes notice before she had to grab her two dogs and leave her house in one of the mountain communities near Los Angeles. She said that she has had to cry alone because her husband is on an international business trip and will not return until November 25. Maria’s 20-year-old son also has a home in the same neighborhood and its status was unknown. He’s in the Navy so his young wife has had to cry alone as well.

Maria said that they will never leave the mountain even though it may always be a fire hazard. “I love it up there.” When asked what she was going to do if she lost her house she proclaimed with a determined spirit, “buy another house up there.”

Should people live in areas where fire destruction is highly likely at some point? Why risk it?

Russian President Vladimir Putin drew an historical parallel today, comparing the U.S. missile shield of today with the Cuban missile crisis of the 1960s, when the world came its closest to nuclear war: “For us, technologically, the situation is very similar. On our borders such threats to our country are being created.”

Did Syria raze a bombed building to conceal a nuclear reactor site? David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, analyzed new commercial satellite images of the Israeli-bombed building. He said Syria “took down this facility so quickly it looks like they are trying to hide something.”

President Bush visited a fire-ravaged California on Thursday, promising to do everything in his power to help. Some 30,000 people have been evacuated from the South Bernardino Mountain area.

CNN says Iran is becoming a hot campaign issue. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman dismisses U.S. sanctions of Iran are “worthless and ineffective” and “doomed to fail.” Condoleeza Rice defends the sanctions: “The international community cannot just sit idly by until we face unpalatable choices.” Experts say they may upset the oil market.

Barack Obama is running as a uniter, but an analyst said he might need to change his tone: “Democrats are tired of being bullied. They want a candidate who will punch bullies in the nose.”

GOP candidates aren’t pulling punches. In the last GOP presidential debate, Rudy Giuliani quoted Hillary Clinton: “’I have a million ideas. America can’t afford them all.’ No kidding, Hillary — America can’t afford you.” Mitt Romney had his say, too: “She hasn’t run a corner store. She hasn’t run a state. She hasn’t run a city. She has never run anything.” (Listen to WoW’s audio pick for Townhall commentary.)

Congress decides to keep the Internet tax-free for another seven years. Bush says it’s time for Congress to “stop wasting time” on some other issues: appropriations bills and emergency war funding.