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Members of the Mira Costa and South Bay community have donated supplies to the communities and families who lost their homes in the Woolsey fire, which destroyed approximately 100,000 acres of land in Los Angeles and Ventura County.
The brush fire started in Thousand Oaks due to the downing of an alleged PG&E power line, and the offshore Santa Ana winds blowing at 50-60 miles per hour swept the fire toward the coast. It is estimated that six billion dollars in homes and real estate were burned, that over 52,000 people were displaced and that there were 77 fatalities.
“It’s strange to think that the fire was so close to home, but that [the South Bay wasn’t] affected,” Disaster Relief Club co-president and sophomore Samantha Dickinson said. “So when we drove up to donate supplies, it was almost seemed unreal to see that people’s homes were just gone.”
In the wake of the Woolsey fire, Costa students have dedicated their efforts to giving back to families. They hosted drives for supplies, food and other resources needed by the families. Costa’s Disaster Relief Club hosted supply drives and made care kits for those in need of necessities after the brush fire. The supplies ranged from strollers to basic clothing items and filled 10 cars. In March, members will venture to Paradise, California with the Red Cross to rebuild destroyed structures.
“We had so many donations that we didn’t have enough room for all of it,” Disaster Relief Club member and sophomore Michaela Webb said. “There were people trying to donate the day we were driving up [to Malibu] and calling in, asking to see if they could still donate.”
Along with Costa clubs, junior Charlee Wickemeyer’s organization, Shelter the Pets, also contributed. Shelter the Pets partnered with Grateful Dog Clubhouse in El Segundo to fund for the care and rescue of animals who were abandoned or displaced by the fire. They collected blankets, food, towels and dog toys and delivered them to Malibu animal shelters.
“Giving back to the animals and pets affected by the fire seemed like a natural decision for our organization to make,” Shelter the Pets president and junior Charlee Wickemeyer said. “When the people of the South Bay unify despite personal differences to contribute to something bigger than themselves, it definitely spoke volumes about their character.”
Local businesses in the South Bay also contributed to disaster relief for the Woolsey fire. Dive N’ Surf, a surf shop in Redondo Beach, collected supplies including food, water, blankets, clothes and pet food delivered by boat to the beaches of Malibu. Tarsan Stand Up Paddle Boarding, also located in Redondo Beach, loaded cars and boats with donations received from the South Bay community.
“What started as a thought turned into a parking lot,” Dive N’ Surf Manager Thomas Kruger said. “We are in the hundreds of people who have been here. It didn’t take much to bring all the good people [of the South Bay] out of the woodwork.”
In addition, LA County fire department firefighters across the South Bay responded to a call to join in fighting the Woolsey fire. According to firefighter Alan Matsumoto, an estimated 50 South Bay firefighters fought against the brush fire, their stations ranging anywhere from Palos Verdes to El Segundo. Because the Woolsey fire was what firefighters call a “career fire,” a fire that is only seen once every 10 years, any available firefighters were sent to Malibu, firefighter Frank Gutierrez said. Out-of-state firefighting organizations from states including Oklahoma, Texas and Washington also aided South Bay firefighters in fighting the flames of the Woolsey brush fire.
“The Ventura County Fire Department’s Arson Division has since taken control of investigating,” firefighter Frank Gutierrez said. “It’s awful to say, but Malibu will inevitably burn every 10 years. It may not be like Woolsey, but it’s just fact.”
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