FILLMORE : Last Quake Shelter Will Close Its Doors

Ventura County’s last shelter for earthquake victims will close late today or Monday because of the small number of people who remain homeless.

American Red Cross officials said the 49 Fillmore residents still without shelter are expected to be placed in homes today. If any families still need housing, it will be cheaper to house them at a motel, officials said.

“We will make sure none of these people are left out in the cold,” said Meg Cochran, a Red Cross spokeswoman. “But we also have to be responsible in the way we spend the money that people have donated to us.”

Cochran said the seven remaining families have been difficult to place because of a shortage of housing for large families in Fillmore.

At one point, four Red Cross shelters in Ventura County were housing victims of the Jan. 17 earthquake. All but the Fillmore Middle School shelter have closed as victims found new housing.

As of Saturday, the Fillmore shelter had housed more than 7,000 people and served more than 80,000 meals. Red Cross officials said 627 volunteers from Ventura County have served in the relief effort to date.