Rebuilding after the fire

This article was originally published by the Moorpark Acorn.

Artists are painting festive scenes on storefront windows, while department stores are playing Christmas songs nonstop, hoping to spread the joy of the season.

But for the third time in recent years, the holiday spirit will be marred for some of our neighbors because of a wildfire.

The Mountain fire, at press time having destroyed some 240 structures —primarily homes—in the Camarillo foothills, is the most destructive wildfire in Southern California in years.

The nearly 21,000-acre blaze, which started on Nov. 6 and was 82% contained at press time, joins a list of local end-of-year disasters that includes the Thomas and Woolsey fires, respectively in 2017 and 2018.

In case you forgot or are a new arrival, the Thomas fire moved west from Santa Paula at an unprecedented speed, at one point burning an acre per second, consuming in a matter of hours what would normally take a day or longer.

The Mountain fire also moved at stunning speed, pushed along by those infamous offshore winds known as the Santa Anas, a nod to their inland Great Basin point of origin.

A big thanks to all the first responders who kept the fire from doing even more damage.

Through- out these pages you’ll find stories of those who lost everything in the Mountain fire and you’ll hear the harrowing tales of those fighting the blaze.

Scan the QR code here to connect to the relief fund coordinated by the Ventura County Community Foundation. It’s just one way to help a stranger in need.

Isn’t that what the holidays are all about?