One day soon, we heard…
The voice of the local radio broadcaster was frantic: “It’s horrendous! This cannot be happening, yet even as I speak, the situation worsens. Tonight, approximately fifteen minutes ago, a gigantic fissure opened in the earth near Lake Crowley, otherwise known as the Long Valley Reservoir, in the Mammoth Lakes region of the eastern Sierra Nevada area. According to eyewitness reports from individuals who observed the lake from nearby higher ground, the lake seemed to heave into the air, virtually catapulting its contents out of the lake basin.
Apparently coinciding with the earthquake—or perhaps causing it—is a volcanic eruption in the area, spewing lava, steam, and volcanic ash into the sky. According to the state’s Department of Water and Power, increased activity has been detected for the past several years, and although seismic activity has recently increased in frequency and intensity, nobody could have predicted this sort of disaster.
“State emergency officials are warning people in Southern California not to drink your tap water. Repeat: do not drink your tap water. It has been contaminated. Lake Crowley formerly rested in a twenty-by-ten-mile crater that is thought to have been formed by a volcanic eruption seven hundred years ago. The lake is one of Southern California’s main water supply sources, collecting mountain runoff, which flows hundreds of miles south by way of aqueducts to Los Angeles. But the catastrophic explosion caused massive amounts of toxic ash to fall into the water, thus contaminating the water supply. Adding to the problem, the volcano has caused rapid melting of snow in the mountains, and flash floods are ripping through the area even as I speak. The floodwater is teeming with potentially hazardous volcanic debris known as lahar. If at all possible, residents should avoid any unnecessary contact with the floodwater until its toxicity can be determined.”
The announcer took a breath and then broke from his professional protocol. “It’s awful,” he gasped. “This is the worst disaster I’ve ever seen. There is no electricity throughout most of the state. Water is rushing through the valley like the Johnstown flood, and our drinking water supply is contaminated. The earth is shaking beneath our feet, its pitch black outside, getting colder by the hour, and we still have nine hours before sunrise. God help us all.”
(From the book “The Refuge” by Jim Bakker)
