This is an artificial, rapid response collection put together by staff while researching firefighting within the county following the Thomas Fire in 2017. Items include reports, plans, and other publications from the Ventura County Fire Department and other fire departments within the county. There are also some indexes for researchers interested in other resources on the topic.

William "Bill" Friend was a former resident of Ojai and later Ventura. Friend was also a local historian. He passed away on April 14, 2011. This collection contains photographs, notes, correspondence, newspaper clippings, newsletters, reports, maps, periodicals, and research compiled by Friend, mostly related to Ojai and other local history, the forest service and forest management, wildfire management, and management of the Sespe watershed and Piru creek.