Montecito Mudslide Victims Fund

Monday night, January 8th, 2018: Our hometown Montecito - a small beach town in California of about 10,000 people - had barely survived the state's largest wildfire when the hills, now barren and scorched, were hit with a historical storm. The half inch of rain that fell within minutes could not sink into the ground and instead triggered explosive torrents of mud that rushed down three of our main creeks, engulfing, breaking, destroying, drowning, burying our small community.

The Montecito mudslides left 21 dead, 28 injured, 2 still missing , 119 homes destroyed, and 263 damaged. The majority of Montecito is currently uninhabitable and inaccessible. Santa Barbara County Sheriff Brown described it alike to a “WWI battlefield.” 

(Photo Source: NYT)

Our parents, like much of the rest of the Montecito community, are displaced until repopulation orders take effect. That night, our parents fortunately evacuated from our home on East Valley Road. We were reassured several days later that the house was still standing. Our family was lucky. Appreciating this and in a position where we can help, my sister and I opened this GoFundMe page to pool donations from our New York, San Francisco & Santa Barbara networks to raise funds specifically for the Montecito families who lost their loved ones and homes. All donations will be divided and distributed to the families’ GoFundMe pages and/or made out to them as checks. I will personally manage the withdrawal and distribution process.

Your donation - ANY amount counts - will help these families with the following & more (dollar estimates provided for some of these expenses) :

-Funeral services: $8K-$10K
-Medical bills: $2K-$5K+
-Insurance bills (deductibles etc): $2K+
-Daily necessities (clothes, toiletries, food): $200+/day
-Transportation & lodging while displaced: $300+/day
-Mental & physical rehabilitation
-Finding a new home/re-building a home

(Photo Source: Mike Eliason)

Even though the two of us live far, we are committed to helping the families who have lost their sister, their son, their dad, their grandpa, their husband, their daughter, their bestfriend, their partner, their baby. We know money does not replace the heartbreak and loss. We also know it might take months, if not years, to rebuild Montecito and move past the devastation. Our goal is to extend a hand and offer hope by starting somewhere, specifically where help & support are needed most immediately: the families who experienced ultimate tragedy.  

Léa and I grew up in Montecito - attended Laguna Blanca elementary school, practiced tennis at Knowlwood & Birnamwood, regularly jogged down San Ysidro through Olive Mill to Butterfly Beach, hiked Montecito Peak countless times, and often reunited over family dinners at the Montecito Inn & Lucky's. This is our effort to stand in solidarity with our hometown community from San Francisco all the way to New York.

(Photo Source: LATimes)

In addition to donating, we ask that you please repost this GoFundMe page link to your own social media and networks to spread the word. Our goal is to raise at least $30,000.

Thank you for helping us care for our hometown and their families.

-Esther & Léa Tran-Le

*If you would like to make a donation directly to those families who set up their own crowdfunding websites, please find links below:

-Benitez Family:
https://www.gofundme.com/4zuaupc

-Martin Cabrera Munoz: https://www.gofundme.com/services-for-our-brother

-Pinit Family:
https://www.gofundme.com/pinitsooms-family-recovery-fund

-Cantin Family: https://www.gofundme.com/cantinfamilyfund

-Peter Fleurat:
https://www.gofundme.com/rose-cafemontecito-mudslide-loss

-Corey Family:
https://fundly.com/morgan-sawyer-and-summer-corey-fund

-Baker Family:
https://www.gofundme.com/carie-baker-fund

-McManigal Family:
https://www.gofundme.com/qmv424-the-mcmanigal-family