Airbnb says it offers free temporary housing of Los Angeles area residents affected by the fires currently raging in Southern California. The company has partnered with 211 LA, a non-profit phone line that offers local information services in multiple languages. Currently, Airbnb says it is focused on helping residents from the Altadena, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, Santa Monica and Sylmar areas. The company can expand to support other areas, and encourage local ones keep an eye on his blog for updates.

Airbnb will partner with 211 LA to identify residents in need of temporary housing and connect them with accommodations offered through Airbnb.org, the company’s non-profit arm that provides free stays through funds from of the company and hosts who offer their homes during the disaster. . The company says more than 1.6 million nights of emergency stays have been provided to approximately 250,000 people.

The home-sharing platform received some criticism on Twitter/X after a user posted that Airbnb had refused to rebook him to new shelters further away from the fire. The company told Gizmodo that the woman booked on the afternoon of January 7, after the fire had already started, which is why it initially refused to issue a refund. Airbnb has since fixed the situation as a courtesy.

Some guests with ongoing reservations in the affected areas of Southern California are eligible to end their trips early under Airbnb’s Major Disruptive Events Policy and receive a refund for the remaining nights of their stay. If their stay has not yet started, users can cancel for a full refund. Hosts may cancel stays in affected areas without consequence.

Thank you Airbnb pic.twitter.com/4BeL26L8Yj

— Ana Mostarac (@anammostarac) January 8, 2025

For now, at least two dead At least 1,000 structures have been reported destroyed as three major fires continue to burn in the Los Angeles area. Videos on social media depicted a devastating scene of affluent areas including Pacific Palisades being destroyed.

This is crazy. Pacific Palisades looks like a war zone. Thousands of hectares were destroyed in one day. Hope the fire is brought under control soon pic.twitter.com/1PnZOqnxCk

— litquidity (@litcapital) January 8, 2025