Immediate housing search begins

Counties, vacation homowners helping find shelter for those who lost homes

Residents displaced from the fires that ravaged North Bay communities in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties are now facing a second crisis: Where to find temporary housing while they rebuild or seek long-term rental housing.

So far, Sonoma County appears to be leading the charge in connecting homeowners who have vacation homes, rental property and spare rooms to families and individuals displaced from the fires. Others, such as Walter Inman of Windsor, are using their own social networks to connect with fire refugees.

Through a friend, he was able to connect with Kathy Schallert, whose rental property in the Mark West Springs area of Sonoma County was incinerated. Schallert escaped in her RV but had nowhere to park it. So, Inman offered to let her park on his property.

Novato resident Laura Izuno doesn’t have space of her own to offer to displaced residents, but has been actively reaching out to her friends, family and acquaintances to identify open rooms and spare properties for those in need. She’s dumbfounded, she said, by what she calls the gap in understanding the magnitude of the problem.

“Those impacted by the fire have lost their homes and are basically just put in a queue,” Izuno said. “We really have to engage people in a grassroots level.”

Meanwhile, others, such as Oakland resident Barbara Schultz, have a second home in Sonoma County’s Forestville community. She said it’s been difficult to connect to those displaced by the fire. She doesn’t typically rent her Forestville home but said she can’t stand to see it sit vacant while others are in need.

“It shouldn’t stand empty,” she said.

If someone such as Schultz has a home to offer for the short- or longterm to a family in displaced by the fires, or just want to know where to direct folks who do, here are some county-led efforts to connect property owners to people displaced by the fire:

• Sonoma County has a comprehensive list of housing resources on its website. There, homeowners can find links to AirBnB’s Open Homes Program, which is offering free housing to those displaced by the fire through Oct. 30. There are also links to emergency RV accommodations, senior housing opportunities, residential care facilities, the county’s SHARE program, rental properties and more.

Property owners can also connect to fire refugees in need of housing by emailing HousingResources@sonoma-county.org.

All that information, and more, can be found at: SonomaCounty.ca.gov/ EOC-and-PIO/Fires-October-2017/Housing-Resources/

• Napa County does not have a dedicated site for housing resources. But, Napa Valley Community Housing has a Home Sharing Match Up Program, which matches homeowners with people seeking spare rooms.

The nonprofit conducts interviews and criminal background checks with participants and matches homeowners to potential renters.

More information on that program can be found at NVCH.org. In addition, home-seekers can speak with nonprofits at Napa’s local assistance center, a onestop shop for federal, state and local disaster relief assistance.

Visit NapaLAC.com for more information.

• A representative from Mendocino County did not provide information on connecting homeowners to fire refugees, but, a staff member at the local assistance center said displaced residents could visit the center for information on housing resources.

That center is located at Mendocino College, Building 6220, at 1000 Hensley Creek Road in Ukiah.

Residents can also call a 24-hour hotline at (707) 467-6428.

All of this information and more can be found at: MendocinoCounty.org/ Community/MendocinoCounty-Fire-Information.