Neighbors helping neighbors. Image: Trent Stevens/Instagram
Unless you’re living under a rock without access to the outside world, you’ve heard of the wildfires raging around Ventura and LA. Most notable is the Thomas Fire, which, in a mere ten days, has burned over 250,000 acres. It’s now the fourth largest wildfire in California since the state began keeping records in 1932. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed, and thousands of people are displaced. Although the media coverage has slowed, the fire is still growing, and with this weekend’s wind forecast it’s unlikely it’ll be out anytime soon. Iron & Resin, a Ventura-based lifestyle company, has started a crowdfunding effort to help the community it is part of.
“I love Ventura and its surrounding communities,” wrote Thom Hill, Iron & Resin co-founder. “I’ve been here most of my life, raising a family and basing my business and brand here. The fires that have affected our communities have been unlike anything I’ve ever seen. This fire season will surely go down as one of the worst in our state’s history. The damage and destruction reach well beyond our own local Ventura community, which was devastated by the loss of over 800 homes and displacement of thousands of families fleeing the fires.”
The Thomas Fire looks as though it could move into Santa Barbara and Montecito, where, according to the LA Times, “nearly a quarter million residents and 62,000 structures worth $46 billion would be at risk.”
This week, however, allowed firefighters to get a leg up on the blaze, with cooler temperatures and easing winds. They worked tirelessly to build containment lines, clear brush, and light backburns in hopes of creating a barrier that could protect from any more loss of life and property that this weekend’s higher winds could cause.
While no one at Iron & Resin lost their homes, they have been, like so many others, impacted by the wildfire. “Almost all of us at Iron & Resin were personally affected by the fires,” Thom continued. “We are fortunate that none of us lost our homes. Many in our community have not been so lucky. We’ve had so many people reach out to us with a desire to help, and we wanted to create a space for people to come together. With a large social and professional network to activate relief efforts, in addition to local facilities and intel, we are poised to provide direct aid to those most impacted. We are coordinating a relief effort called Help California (#helpcalifornia) to bring relief to those families who have lost their homes and are facing the monumental task of rebuilding their lives.”
See more from Iron & Resin’s Help California on Instagram and donate to the relief efforts on Gofundme.
