Not even a week after reopening the Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, the Rev. Febin Barose found himself evacuating once again, this time fleeing rain and not fire.
The 83-acre property, heavily damaged during the Eaton Fire, sent employees and retreatants home Thursday morning after evacuation orders came from the Sierra Madre Police Department. They joined scores of other property owners in the area in the city. Police warned residents who choose not to evacuate that they will need to shelter in place until the areas are deemed safe for city officials to enter as officials will not enter areas experiencing mud and debris flows.
“The main thing is they’re safe,” Barose, the center’s director, said of people at the retreat. “We hope everything will be OK by tomorrow morning.”
Sixty-four students from Louisville High School in Woodland Hills evacuated the center because of the possibility of moderate debris and mudflows. A retreat for married couples scheduled to begin Friday evening will be canceled if the evacuation order still stands on Friday.
Barose said Los Angeles County engineers examined the center’s grounds and deemed it safe, only recommending reinforcing posts and fencing in some area.
“We feel safe,” he said. “We need the rain. There’s an Irish blessing that says, ‘may rains fall soft upon your fields,’ and that’s what we want, to settle the ashes and make new life come through. The rain is doing what we need but we are watching and keeping our eyes open.”
The storm’s approach and danger of debris flows from the fire’s burn areas comes after the Eaton Fire ripped through the center, burning employee apartments, the hermitage and a garage. The wildfire also damaged two floors of the center’s main building as well as its expansive gardens.
During the month that the center was closed, Barose said buildings, furniture and fixtures were triple-cleaned, with rooms outfitted with new mattresses, pillows and beddings. The center reopened on Feb. 7.
“That was a moment of success, pride, gratitude and hope,” Barose said.
Rebuilding in the aftermath of the fire would take about two years, he added.
“The scorched gardens will take time, the structures in the garden will take time, with the most immediate reconstruction taking six to eight months, if everything goes well,” Barose said.
Mater Dolorosa, founded in 1924, is run by the religious order called the Passionists. Part of its mission is to provide a peaceful environment of prayer and spiritual growth. While the threat of debris flows and more destruction does delay a return to normalcy, Barose said he sees opportunities in uncertain times.
“We are people of hope and we have to live the faith. We preach about it, we encourage it and now we have to live it.”