I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all those that came to the aid of Oakmont of Santa Clarita the day of the Rye Fire. With the dry conditions and high winds throughout the Santa Clarita Valley, the fire conditions quickly changed and within minutes we made the decision to evacuate our community.
The process of evacuating 94 seniors, 12 pets and all of our team members is no easy task, but with our proper disaster planning and the help of our first responders and good Samaritans, I am proud and thankful to say that we all got out safely and all were accounted for.
While I know that I will not remember all that helped, I do want to say a special thank you to a few who truly went above and beyond. To my team members and my residents, thank you for remaining calm and for following directions in time that was truly frightening.
To our maintenance director, Victor, I can only say that you are our angel. While we were evacuating, you and others were courageously putting out the fires that were popping up along our property. Thank you to our first responders who came on our property to put out flames and offer assistance.
To the good Samaritans that stopped and helped us transport residents out, I thank you. To Allison and Alex at Santa Clarita Transit, thank for getting us large city buses to use for getting out. To Tristan at Sunrise of Sterling Canyon, thank you for bringing the Sunrise bus to help us get our residents safely out.
To Kevin, Suzann and the entire team at the Santa Clarita Senior Center, thank you for opening your doors to us without any hesitation. Your smiling faces, delicious lunch and entertainment helped to keep our residents safe and happy. To our Oakmont families, I thank you for your support, confidence and patience.
I am happy to say that after 12 days, we have all returned to our home, Oakmont of Santa Clarita. I hope that we never have to go through another ordeal like the Rye Fire, but through this experience I truly came to realize the true strength and commitment our team members have for our residents and the support that we have from for our “awesome” community. We are #Oakmont Strong!
Margie Veis
Executive Director
Oakmont of Santa Clarita
