Wildfire victims seeking new start in Orange County
Countless Los Angeles County residents were displaced after thousands of homes were destroyed by two devastating wildfires in early January.
Many have started to search for homes in Orange County, looking for a new place to start fresh. They were greeted by Newport Beach Mayor Joe Stapleton, who organized an event to try and make them feel more at home, no matter how long they intend to remain in the area.
"I think what we're trying to understand is, whether they're here temporarily or permanently we want to be a welcoming place for them," Stapleton said. "Some of them told me that they've been down here for a period of time and they realized Newport Beach is a world class city, maybe similar to the Palisades."
He said that upon speaking with some of the new residents, they weren't looking to rebuild, but rather build a sense of community someplace new.
At last count, Orange County officials say that 30 different families impacted by the Palisades Fire alone have enrolled their children in the Newport Mesa Unified School District.
With so many new people incoming, local realtors — and some of their clients — have started to spring into action to try and find them a place to stay.
One client of Deborah and Spencer Pirdy, a mother-son real estate duo in Newport Beach, say that they've had a client reach out and offer one of his properties for rent to evacuees in the market for housing.
"He has that luxury of having the ability to, you know, go to another home and lease out the one he's currently in," Spencer Pirdy said. "We've had certain instances like that where clients reach out to us in good faith at the normal market value, maybe slightly above, want to lease their home to those in need."
Local realtors are also keeping in mind that the California Department of Real Estate, and state prosecutors, are keeping an eye out for those looking to take advantage of fire victims. Those found to be price gouging can be fined by up to $10,000 if in violation.
Deborah Pirdy says that she's noticed an uptick in fire victims putting out feelers on coastal Orange County properties. She thinks it's still far too soon for many to come to a concrete decision.
"A lot of people are still in shock and they're in this period of not knowing what they're going to do," Pirdy said.
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