While fires might not have devastated Utah this week, the damage and anguish taking place just a few states over in California has resonated here at home.

After all, it’s less than two months after Utah County faced its own set of wildfires threatening entire towns; we were far luckier that it did not ravage Woodland Hills and Elk Ridge … as so easily could have happened if weather took a bad turn.

Our hearts ache for the families of the more than 1,000 residents missing and the at least 76 dead. It has become the deadliest wildfire in the country for nearly a century.

According to an Associated Press report, around 52,000 people in Northern California have been left homeless and have gone to shelters, motels and the homes of friends and relatives. With winter approaching, many are seeking answers on what assistance will be provided.

Utah County sent some of its own within the last week to help battle the wildfires raging in Northern and Southern California. As of Saturday, the Camp Fire was about half contained.

According to Utah Fire Info, at least 13 fire departments in Utah sent personnel and engines for at least two weeks. Among those were firefighters with the Lehi Fire Department, Provo Fire and Rescue, Utah County Fire, Lone Peak Fire District and Pleasant Grove Fire Department.

For many of those, they’ll forgo the Thanksgiving holiday to help so many Californians in need.

“That just comes with the job. Even on-duty, we miss anniversaries, birthdays, holidays,” said Capt. Dean York with Provo Fire and Rescue in a Daily Herald article.

Other departments headed out of Utah to California included Draper, Bluffdale, Cedar City, Hurricane and the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, state fire officials stated.

We’re overwhelmingly grateful for their service here in Utah, as well as the aid they give throughout the western region.

We urge Utahns to exhibit a similar charity now to our neighbors and fellow Americans facing the worst of circumstances that we, too, have felt the threat of. Some residents who are forced to live in hotels they cannot afford while they await their fate are running out of money, others have few personal belongings they were able to salvage before running, some are praying FEMA will help with serious health care needs, and others are falling ill in shelters for the evacuated as an outbreak of norovirus spreads. Thirty-two thousand Butte County students affected by the fire will be out of school until Dec. 3.

The situation cannot be described by anything less than horrific and miserable. We hope and pray for quick containment, and that agencies and everyday people will be compelled to action and compassion.

While the damage in Utah this summer and fall does not come close to the devastation in California right now, our hearts are empathetic to the continual and daily worry, the wondering of what can be done, and the questions of what comes next. Stay strong. Find those who need a helping hand. Look for the helpers.