04 Dec 2018
By Franki Williams
Today is a time for reflection and lessons learned as we observe the one year anniversary of the Thomas Fire that burned through Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties and at one point encircled the Ojai Valley where the Humane Society of Ventura County’s 4.4-acre facility is located. Our staff and volunteers remember well when we first received the news that a fire had broken out in the Upper Ojai/Santa Paula area, changing our lives and the lives of our community forever. That night the Shelter immediately opened its doors 24/7 to those being affected by the fast-moving fire and in the first 48 hours after the flames ignited, the shelter nearly quadrupled its residents. At the peak of the disaster, the shelter was home to nearly 400 animals, including the 81 animals already in our care. Besides the numerous cats and dogs that came in, it was necessary for the shelter to improvise to accommodate the hundreds of other animals in peril including alpacas, donkeys, goats, chickens, and even snakes. Each and every animal that was brought to the Humane Society of Ventura County for safekeeping brought with it a story of hope and survival. These animals were in our care because in one way or another their lives and the lives of their families were threatened or in danger. For weeks the shelter ran at capacity and many animals remained in the shelter’s care well into the new year, with the last evacuee animal going home this past June.
