Attorney Quirk Founds Nonprofit After 2017 Wildfire

By February 22, 2023Uncategorized

A recent University of the Pacific newsroom article discussed attorney Quirk’s community contributions after a 2017 wildfire that swept through almost 300,000 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, destroying thousands of structures. The wildfire continued on for almost 40 days, and was named the Thomas Fire. As the community joined together to help in the aftermath of it all, you would have found two alumnus of McGeorge School of Law, Trevor Quirk and his wife Aletheia. The field next to their home was swiftly engulfed in flames, in which his children were evacuated with his wife and then Trevor went to work protecting his home using firefighting skills he learned while in college.

Not only did Quirk work hard to save his land but the homes of his neighbors as well. He was committed to helping others by getting supplies to those who remained in the area, and cutting fire lines while riding in a tractor with his 93 year old friend and neighbor. By using social media, he was able to gather momentum from the community who was urgent to help in any way they could. Residents in the area dealt with the real risk and fear of losing their homes, and needed some extra support to recover from the devastation.

Trevor Quirk organized a pancake breakfast for those who had to stay behind to combat the fire themselves. He loaded up leftovers in his truck and arranged deliveries of pancakes, supplies, and equipment. From the experience, Quirk and another resident of Ojai, Justin Homze, founded Upper Ojai Relief, which is a nonprofit organization to assist natural disaster survivors. This relief foundation has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds for survivors, in addition to providing supplies that a community would need to recover from a tragic fire or other natural disaster. Trevor’s heroism and the relief organization gained media attention, and his story was featured in HBO and CAPS Media documentaries. Quirk is the youngest person to have received the Ojai Valley Rotary’s Living Treasures award for his courageous efforts.

Along with fighting fires and giving back to the community of people and animals that are affected by natural disasters, Trevor has a law firm practice as a personal injury attorney. He founded Quirk Law Firm, LLP in 2005, and finds immense reward in helping those who truly need it. He found his driving force of motivation and has shown to make a difference in his professional life and for community causes. With his proven track record of obtaining millions of dollars in verdicts for his clients, he is always happy to jump in and help, in every way he can.