It might not be obvious why blood supplies were impacted by the fires – but – says Sherrie DeVillers from Vitalant – as well as cancelled blood drives, people were unable to attend appointments and that impacted supply.
"With the fires, it kind of put us in a low spot where we're trying to just make sure that we keep at a certain level to keep our blood supply adequate," she said.
DeVillers says donating blood is a quick and easy way to help others in the community.
"We serve 25 hospitals along the Central Coast and in Southern California, and every day we need at least 250 donors to meet those needs of the patients, on average. And we have to have it ready and there and tested and available for them when it's needed," she said.
There are upcoming blood drives in Thousand Oaks on Monday, February 3 at Los Robles Health System, as well as Palm Garden Hotel on Tuesday, February 4, Thousand Oaks Police Department on Wednesday, February 5 and on Monday, February 17 at Fogo de Chao. Details of how and where to donate blood on their website.