850 Airbnb Hosts Offering Free Stays to Woolsey Fire, Hill Fire Evacuees

Hundreds of Airbnb hosts are offering free stays to people who have evacuated the Woolsey and Hill fires in Southern California.

More than 850 homes throughout Southern California, including some in San Diego County, have listed free stays from Nov. 9 until Nov. 29 via Airbnb.

The fires have destroyed 400 buildings and continue to threaten 57,000 homes, NBC Los Angeles reported.

The stays are being offered via Airbnb’s Open Homes Program, which is designed for evacuees, emergency workers, and volunteers.

“We encourage hosts in the area to consider opening their homes to those who are in need of temporary accommodations or for relief workers helping in the area,” an Airbnb press statement said of the move, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

For more details on Airbnb’s program in Ventura and Los Angeles, go to Airbnb’s website.

“Our hearts go out to all those impacted by the fires in Ventura County,” said Kellie Bentz, who is the Airbnb’s head of global disaster response and relief. “We are continually humbled by our hosts’ generosity in times of disaster through our Open Homes program. For residents displaced by and relief workers deployed to respond to the Hill and Woolsey fires, our Open Homes Program provides temporary accommodations free of charge.”

Meanwhile, on Nov. 13, wind gusts fueled the fires in Southern California, CNN noted. “We are not out of the woods yet,” Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said. “We still have incredibly tough conditions ahead of us.”

So far, the Camp Fire in Northern California has destroyed 15,500 structures and burned 125,000 mainly in Butte County.

The Woolsey Fire has torched 96,314 acres and destroyed an estimated 435 structures. The Hill Fire torched 4,531 acres and was 90 percent contained as of Tuesday.