One Ventura (Calif.) County Medical Center physician is collecting funds to support his colleagues whose homes were destroyed by the wildfires that have continued to devastate sizeable portions of Southern California since last week, according to CBS Local.
Roughly 159,000 acres of land have been burned by six main fires, according to a Dec. 8 Los Angeles Daily News report.
The Thomas Fire, which threatens Ventura County, has burned roughly 231,700 acres of land and destroyed or damaged roughly 985 structures, with 18,000 buildings still at risk, ABC News reports.
After learning at least 13 of his colleagues' homes were destroyed by the blaze, Tipu Khan, MD, started a GoFundMe page to raise $60,000 to help his colleagues through this difficult time.
"Knowing that it's happening to people we know, that I work with, that I spend time with, that I see every single day — it just broke my heart," Dr. Khan told CBS Local.
Dr. Khan said the funds will be divided equally between those affected by the fires. The campaign had raised more than $40,700 of its $60,000 goal as of noon Tuesday.