Community center opens doors for Borderline victim families, Woolsey Fire evacuees in same week

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Community center helps shooting victims, fire evacuees in same week

After the mass shooting at Borderline Bar & Grill, the Alex Fiore Thousand Oaks Teen Center said it would serve as a victim support center. It later opened its doors to Woolsey Fire evacuees.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- In a matter of days, one Southern California community center opened its doors to help both survivors of a horrific mass shooting and evacuees from a devastating wildfire.

Just hours after the late-night mass shooting at Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, the Alex Fiore Thousand Oaks Teen Center posted on its Facebook page that it would be closed so that it could "be used exclusively as a victim support center."

Authorities said a gunman killed 11 people, including a Ventura County Sheriff's Office deputy, during college night at the country-themed bar the night before.

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People stand in a parking lot along South Moorpark Road in the aftermath of a mass shooting at Borderline Bar & Grill, on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018.

Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times

The Woolsey Fire broke out just hours later, charring more than 80,000 acres in a matter of days. The center posted on Facebook that it would be closed temporarily to serve as an evacuation site and later said it would be closed indefinitely to support those displaced by the fire.

According to its Facebook page, the Alex Fiore Thousand Oaks Teen Center offers local teens "a comprehensive program to include quality leisure, social, and educational services in the form of both drop-in and organized activities." It is funded by the City of Thousand Oaks and administered by the Conejo Recreation and Park District.

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