Front Lines: California Wildfires
Help in the storm
When Rick Hoffman toured the area around the mainoffice of his company, Coldwell Banker Associates in the suburban Scripps Ranch area of San Diego, it looked like a moonscape. Whole blocks were leveled, ravaged by the largest of the dozen or so fires that swept through Southern California in late October, leaving unprecedented devastation in their wake.
The fires were California’s most costly disaster ever, killing 20 people, destroying 3,400 homes, charring 747,000 acres, and inflicting an estimated $2 billion in damage, according to one Oct. 30 estimate. But even as the fires raged, REALTORS® in the affected areas and throughout the state were mobilizing to help the victims.
“Practitioners have been overwhelming in their support and on the front lines with help,” says Marilyn Schultz, executive officer of the Inland Valleys Association of REALTORS®, with offices in Riverside and San Bernardino, a hard-hit area.
Within days of the start of the conflagration, the California Association of REALTORS® had announced the launch of a foundation to collect assistance funds for victims and waive dues requirements for affected members. Others, including local REALTOR® associations, real estate companies, and lenders, had also begun relief efforts.
Among them, the Inland Valleys Association had approved a program to provide financial assistance to victims, launched a clothing drive, and provided office space for the displaced staff of the Rim o’ the World Association of REALTORS®. Hoffman’s company had set up a fund to assist displaced associates, staff, and customers. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA extended mortgage relief to affected households, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency was providing aid.
Although the fires are having a short-term impact on closings, practitioners say they’re upbeat about the area’s future. Says Hoffman: “I haven’t talked to one person whose house burned down that isn’t optimistic and planning to rebuild.”
—Robert Freedman (Paul Beakley contributed to this article.)
Provide help
To contribute to relief efforts, contact these organizations:
