Thousands of L.A. Wildfire Evacuees Find Shelter, Support in Santa Barbara

Hotels Filled With People Fleeing Los Angeles Fires; Community Orgs Jump to Offer Help

By Ryan P. Cruz Mon Jan 13, 2025 | 04:39pm

Nearly a hundred thousand Los Angeles County residents are still under evacuation orders as of Monday, January 13, and with more than 10,000 homes, schools, or other structures completely destroyed by fires from Pacific Palisades to Altadena to Sylmar, many are seeking refuge just up the coast in Santa Barbara.

Personal accounts posted on social media show frantic families packing their cherished belongings into cars and looking for anywhere safe. As evacuation centers in Los Angeles began to rapidly fill up, some jumped on Highway 101 northbound to find shelter on the Central Coast.

By the weekend, Santa Barbara hotels were filling up with people affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. On Saturday, Visit Santa Barbara announced a special lodging rate for evacuees at 25 different locations, with some offering 25-30 percent discounts or rooms for prices as low as $129 per night.

According to representatives at several local hotels, rooms were fully booked over the weekend, with phone calls coming in “nonstop” from evacuees inquiring about availability. At Hotel Milo, more than 50 reservations were made last Wednesday alone, and rooms have been sold out each day since, with management estimating about three-fourths of rooms are occupied by evacuees.

At the Ramada by Wyndham Santa Barbara, traveling first responders have taken many of the rooms, including firefighters from Northern California and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Over the weekend, local businesses also reported a surge in foot traffic due to the wave of evacuees in town, and many Santa Barbara–based businesses offered to provide free services to those affected by the fires. These include clothing items at Ace Rivington, free children and baby clothes at Jake and Jones, treats at Oak Bakery, and free admission to the MOXI Museum or Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

On social media sites like Nextdoor and Reddit, Santa Barbara locals offered to donate food, supplies, or much-needed items like diapers, baby formula, underwear, and socks. Across the county, Santa Barbara’s highly active nonprofit industry sprang to life to offer support through donations or fundraisers.

Even the local animal shelters have done their part. C.A.R.E4Paws partnered with Cold Noses Warm Hearts, Meade Canine Rescue, ASAP Cats, and Santa Ynez Valley Humane Society to help rescue and provide shelters to animals affected by the fires. This includes 15 cats from the Baldwin Park shelter that are now safe with ASAP Cats in Santa Barbara.

With so many options for providing support, government agencies are urging people to be very careful of online scams and fraudulent causes.

The City of Santa Barbara released a list of “trusted resources” and relief organizations compiled by the South Coast Chamber of Commerce, along with a Better Business Bureau guide on how to donate “thoughtfully and securely.”

“If you wish to provide financial support, look for established organizations actively involved in relief efforts,” the guide reads.

Before donating, the guide explains, you should check the organization’s report on Give.org to find out if the charity meets official standards for charity accountability. You should also avoid relief appeals that have “vague” descriptions and watch out for “click-bait and phishing scams.”

“Online giving scams tend to pop up after a disaster to take advantage of public sympathy,” the guide says. “Don’t click on email, text, or social media links promising to connect you to a familiar charity. Instead, go directly to the charity’s website on your own.”

Some of the relief organizations approved by government officials include: Direct Relief CA Wildfire Response; American Red Cross LA County; California Community Foundation;

Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE); Los Angeles Regional Food Bank; Los Angeles County Animal Care & Control; Pasadena Community Foundation; Pasadena Humane; Salvation Army Southern California Division; United Way of Greater Los Angeles; and World Central Kitchen.

To support first responders, donate to: California Fire Foundation; Los Angeles City Fire Department Foundation; Wildland Firefighter Foundation; and the Los Angeles Police Foundation.

The influx of thousands of new residents, whether permanent or temporary, has already had an effect on Santa Barbara’s rental market. According to a post on Siteline Santa Barbara, some luxury homes in the county are being offered at higher rates than previously listed. These include a four-bedroom home on East Valley Road currently renting for $55,000 a month — previously listed at $40,000 a month — and another Montecito property listed at $75,000 a month, bumped up from a previous listing of $60,000 a month.

Some of these listings, including a 3,100-square-foot home on Winding Creek Lane (pictured above), show the price change occurring within the past few days. According to Zillow, the Winding Creek Lane property was listed for a monthly rate of $19,999 prior to the fires on January 4. By January 11, the price was changed to $25,000, before it was removed and relisted on January 12 for $29,900.

According to the state’s price gouging law, it is illegal to raise prices of goods and services more than 10 percent after an emergency has been declared. California Attorney General Rob Bonta addressed the issue during a press conference over the weekend, where he urged residents to look out for and report illegal price gouging.

“We should not be engaged in price gouging, whether it’s groceries or rent,” said Bonta, adding that his office has received reports of hotels and rental properties charging too much in the wake of the wildfires. “We are very serious about this, and the governor’s office, on ensuring that there is no price gouging and that anyone engaged in it is held accountable.”

Elijah Valerjev contributed to the reporting for this story.