The Southern California wildfires have devastated thousands of buildings.
The rental platform said Wednesday that it is teaming up with 211 LA, a longtime Los Angeles area nonprofit, in response to the ongoing fires.
Los Angeles County has been contending with wildfires since Tuesday. Five were burning Friday morning, including the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Kenneth Fire, Hurst Fire, and Lidia Fire.
“Stays are completely free for guests and are funded by Airbnb.org and the generosity of Airbnb hosts – many of whom offer their home for free or at a discount through Airbnb.org,” Airbnb explained.
211 LA is identifying and coordinating the temporary Airbnb housing at Airbnbs for eligible people, particularly individuals living in Altadena, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, Santa Monica, and Sylmar who have “lost their home or been forced to evacuate” due to the flames, according to the rental platform.
Los Angeles area residents in need of the temporary Airbnb.org housing assistance must complete an intake form with 211 LA that can be accessed on the nonprofit’s website.
In order to be eligible, they must “have been displaced from your physical home due to the recent fires,” live in an evacuation zone, have the ability to create an Airbnb account if they don’t already have one and must be at least 18 years old, according to 211 LA’s website.
Roughly 130,000 people have been told by officials to evacuate the fires, The Associated Press reported.
The largest of the five blazes, the 20,438-acre Palisades Fire, has razed over 5,000 buildings, according to CalFire. It is 6% contained as of Friday morning.
