The fires.
As you may have heard, Southern California is undergoing an onslaught of wildfires, with one of the hardest-hit areas being Ventura County. Now, Ventura County includes the city where I live (Oxnard) and the city where my store is at (Camarillo), but I have been (so far!) fortunate enough to not be in any immediate danger, as the fires are mostly around me, but not near me or headed towards me. Of course, this could change at any time, and there’s always the possibility that a new fire could start, God forbid, so I’ve been trying to keep an eye on what’s happening.
Several friends and customers haven’t been so fortunate, as many of them live in the actual city of Ventura, which is, like, right there in the danger zone. In fact, my former place of employment had to shut down at least for a day due to mandatory evacuations in their area. I’ve heard from folks who live only blocks away from where houses burned down. I have a friend who still has his car full of his possessions in case he needs to bug out. An apartment complex on the same street where I used to live in Ventura years ago burnt to the ground. And of course everything is covered in ash and clouds of smoke. It’s a real mess out there, and I hope everyone stays safe.
This page can keep everyone updated on the situation, and also provides a couple of places where people can send donations.
Anyway, think good thoughts for all of us out here, and here’s to everybody getting through this as best as they’re able.
