edited by Graciela Cabello
The Matilija Fire of 1932 drew thousands of firefighters from around the state to the rugged mountains just north of Ojai. A military-like effort to curb the flames was well underway within days of the fire’s start, and within a few weeks, the fire had burned over 200,000 acres of chaparral, oak woodland, and even some conifer forest on Pine Mountain.
There will always be questions about the utility of fighting a fire like this in the backcountry, especially when so many firefighters were put into harm’s way around the 450-mile fire perimeter. What isn’t so questionable, however, is the heroism of local citizens who did what they could to protect the lives of those on the fire lines. One such standout tale of courage is that of Margaret Hunt, the famous horsewoman of Ojai.
Often referred to as Mrs. Harry M. Hunt in old newspaper articles, Margaret Hunt (nee Margaret Ann Clark) was born in Fair Play, Wisconsin in 1878. Her parents fled Ireland during the potato famine and initially settled in southern Wisconsin. But like so many at the time, the Clarks uprooted themselves and moved west across the continent when Margaret was just a toddler. They landed in the Ojai Valley in 1880, where the family became a fixture of the community for decades to come.
Margaret established herself as one of the best horsewomen in the region. She was the director of the horse program at The Thacher School from 1908 to 1943, and by some accounts, this was when the school’s horse program really hit its stride. The Hunt Barn on campus was named in honor of Margaret. She also took students from Ojai Valley School on trail rides, which ultimately led to the development of a riding curriculum at the school.
The Los Padres National Forest (then called the Santa Barbara National Forest), especially in the Sespe Creek watershed, was a favorite place of Margaret. She led trail rides not only for students, but also locals and visitors alike who paid to have an experienced rider and packer take them on an adventure in the backcountry. Apparently, she wasn’t keen on the construction of Highway 33—which was a major project brought forth by her brother and Ventura County supervisor, Tom Clark—through the national forest. And while the highway eventually did get built, opening up the backcountry to motorists, there was still perhaps no other non-Indigenous person more knowledgeable about the region’s trails at the time.
A lifetime of riding the backcountry trails in the Topatopa Mountains and the Sespe proved to be crucial during the 1932 Matilija Fire. Once the fire started, Margaret immediately began taking between 6 and 13 horses at a time, all loaded with supplies, to the men and women stationed at fire camps in the mountains. The 1945 History of the Los Padres National Forest by William S. Brown mentions Margaret specifically:
Several women, used to outdoor work in the mountains, rendered signal service in aiding the effort of the fire-fighters. Mrs. H.M. [Margaret] Hunt, comely, slenderly-built horse rancher of Ojai, was one of these. She won the admiration of Forest Service leaders for her coolness and efficiency in handling a string of pack mules transporting supplies to isolated camps. Mrs. Hunt was credited with saving a bunch of bewildered fire-fighters from being killed or badly burned when she assumed charge of the group and kept them huddled under wet blankets during of the runs of the fire across a creek bottom.
Newspapers at the time also raved about Margaret’s work during the fire. The September 17, 1932 edition of the Ventura County Star described an incident that almost took Margaret’s life. She was taking a pack train up Last Chance Trail out of Santa Paula Canyon when the fire made a big run, trapping a group of firefighters up the trail. Margaret found a place for her and the horses to huddle as the fire burned over her location. Her friends and family took her for dead until she came riding back into town the next morning.
The same newspaper published an article 10 days later that was solely about Margaret’s heroism. The local Forest Supervisor at the time praised Margaret for her skills as a packer, saying (with sexist undertones that were unfortunately prevalent at the time) that she “proved herself equal to the men on the fire line in endurance and pluck.”
The truth is that there were few people then or even now who were as skilled and knowledgeable as Margaret when it came to riding and packing on trails in the often-unforgiving terrain of northern Ventura County. She was a shining example of someone who cared deeply about the backcountry and who shared their knowledge and skills so that others could experience the incredible landscapes of the Los Padres National Forest from the back of a horse. And she didn’t hesitate in risking her life to help the people who were sent into dangerous situations during the Matilija Fire.
Margaret Hunt passed away in 1946, having spent nearly her entire life in Ojai. Her only child, Margaret Reimer, was one of the original eleven members of the Ojai Valley Garden Club. She had two children of her own, both of whom grew up in Ojai and were avid equestrians like their grandmother.
Sources
William S. Brown. 1945. The History of the Los Padres National Forest. United States Forest Service.
Clark Company Ranch Real Estate. Retrieved 2023. “History.”
Drew Mashburn. June 22, 2017. Garden Club Founded in ’26. Ojai History.
FamilySearch. Retrieved 2023. “Michael Hugh Clark.”
Ojai Valley School. 2010. Family Tree.
The Thacher School Survey & Assessment. July 2016.
The Thacher School. Fall 2017. Thacher Magazine.
Mrs. Hunt Given Praise for Work in Fighting Fire. September 27, 1932. Ventura County Star.
100 Trapped by Fire are Saved at Last Chance. September 17, 1932. Ventura County Star.
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