We have very sad news for you today. “Thomas” Fire has burned the legendary drummer Simon Phillips‘ house in Ventura County, California. The estate was burned to the ground.
At the time that it happened, Phillips was onstage at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City with his band Protocol 4. It was the first night of the U.S. leg of their tour, and Phillips has canceled the entire tour as he deals with the fire. A GoFundMe campaign is in the process of bring established.
The Thomas Fire started last night at 6:30PM Pacific and quickly spread via the Santa Ana winds, burning an acre a second and is still considered to be out of control. As of press time it has covered 50,000 acres, roughly 78 square miles, and has destroyed 150 buildings, including an 82-bed mental health facility. According to the Los Angeles Times, 1,000 people are fighting the fire. We wish Simon and other victims of the fire a very strong will to carry on!
