Oceanside restaurant launches donation drive for L.A. County wildfire victims
Jan 09, 2025
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — As the destructive wildfires continue to ravage parts of Los Angeles County, residents across the region are left wondering how they can lend a hand.
“It’s terrifying and people are rolling up into hotels and they have no idea, they have nothing but what they escaped with," said Aaron Browning, owner of Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen in downtown Oceanside.
After days of watching all of the loss so many people in the L.A. area are currently experiencing, the owners of Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen were inspired to take action to provide whatever relief they can.
A social media post shared with the restaurant's more than 15,000 followers on Instagram has already resulted in numerous donations of essential goods for fire victims.
“Hopefully people will follow suit with that as well and then we can really kind of start something special because people are going to need a lot of help," according to Roddy Browning, owner of Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen.
The couple is collecting clothes, blankets, toiletries, canned foods, and other essentials for those who lost everything in the flames. They plan to deliver the items they collect on Sunday to a location designated by the Venice Surfing Association, one of numerous nonprofit organizations collecting donations for fire victims.
Items needed include the following:
blankets
towels
clean socks
warm clothes
flashlights
batteries
drinking water
power banks
toiletries
tampons/pads
contact solution
wet wipes
diapers
baby wipes
dog/cat food
pet beds
instant coffee
canned foods
ramen cups
power bars
first aid supplies
non-perishables
instant oatmeal
snacks
"As long as it keeps coming, I will happily drive it to L.A. and take it where it needs to go," Aaron Browning said.
Click here for a list of ways San Diegans can take action to help the region’s neighbors to the north.