Story at a glance
- Northern California continues to be plagued by wildfires, prompting Airbnb to offer free housing.
- The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection resources are stretched to their limits.
Vacation rental and home sharing company Airbnb is offering to house evacuees of the Northern California wildfires for free as hundreds of thousands of acres are still burning.
Through the tech darling’s OpenHomes initiative, which encourages Airbnb hosts to offer their spaces as housing to communities in need, evacuees can book a free room from Aug. 20 through Sept. 10.
The Santa Cruz County government tweeted the company program on Sunday. Hotels in the area are offering similar services as firefighters work to contain the CZU Lightning Complex fire nearby. So far, the fire has destroyed 78,000 acres and is only 13 percent contained.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES KILL 5 PEOPLE, FORCE MORE THAN 60,000 TO EVACUATE
LIGHTNING WILDFIRES SCORCH CALIFORNIA, EXPLODE IN SIZE
CALIFORNIA DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY AMID WILDFIRES
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that approximately 77,000 residents in Santa Cruz and San Mateo alone, although preemptive evacuation orders have been ordered for Santa Clara County, and more northern counties like Napa evacuated last week. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection forces have been strained, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) declaring a state of emergency. The state has since asked for reinforcements from out of state to help suppress the multiple fires.
Firefighter Ryan Cramer told The Chronicle that resources are stretched thin and are up against multiple fires across the region.
“It’s just a large expansive area, and not the normal amount of resources,” he said. “These fires are growing, and growing and growing.”
Several of these fires, including the CZU Lightning Complex, started as a result of lightning strikes. Strong winds have enabled the fires to spread, and a preexisting heat wave has exacerbated the already hot and arid conditions.
At least five people have perished as a result of the fires. Cal Fire reports that approximately 1,423,076 acres have burned, and 1,504 structures have been either damaged or destroyed.
BAY AREA AIR QUALITY TANKS AMID CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
‘HARD TO PREDICT’ WILDFIRES SCORCH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, PARTS OF NORTH
Published on Aug 24,2020