Non-profit provides relief to Mountain Fire victims through power of social media
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif.— Luis Villanueva is still processing the shock of losing his Somis home in the Mountain Fire.
“I don't know that I am gonna be alive tomorrow. I don't know the future. I don't know when that's going to be next,” said Villanueva.
He’s reliving the trauma of 2017, when the Thomas Fire burned his Ojai home to the ground.
Everywhere he moves, it seems like a wildfire is there to greet him.
“The second I made it, the third I made it , the fourth I made it. The fifth I lost my house again,” said Villanueva.
Friends and loved ones call him Tigre because of his ability to persevere through tough times, but Villanueva feels like he’s failing his wife and children.
“I don’t wanna have this in my heart— the pressure on me that 'Why am I not giving the good life to them?' Why, that I'm not moving someone else and protecting them?”
But out of dark times has come a sense of community. Tigre met his neighbor Trevor Quirk during the Thomas Fire. That’s where Quirk’s non-profit Upper Ojai Relief was born.
Now, the non-profit is helping Mountain Fire victims rebuild by sharing their stories on social media.
After each story is shared there is a call for donations from basic supplies like underwear and toiletries to more expensive items like fireproof boots.
Trevor Quirk posted Tigre’s story on Thursday. In just 4 hours, he says the community fulfilled Tigre’s Amazon wishlist.
“Five minutes after we posted his story, a lady writes me and says, I'm donating a 1200 dollar real estate commission to him,” said Upper Ojai Relief co-founder, Trevor Quirk.
“I can't even imagine losing my home once, let alone having recovered from the first fire and five years later, losing your home a second time. It's just... it's terrible. But I also truly believe that these are things that we can recover from,” said Real Estate Agent, Brandy Plummer.
“Tigers never stop and he's gotten knocked down, but he's not stopping,” said Quirk.
