RV Community Helps Victims of Southern California Fires – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News

Booking.com

The devastating Southern California fires this past January have left thousands of people without homes. The two Los Angeles-area fires — Pacific Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire — fueled by relentless winds reaching up to 100 mph, damaged or destroyed more than 16,000 homes and other structures. Many of these displaced folks are struggling with finding affordable interim housing and price gouging. And for those fortunate to have a home to return to, they are looking at months or even longer to tackle the massive cleanup and being saddled with thousands of dollars in restoration costs while seeking temporary housing.

Some of these fire victims are renting or buying an RV as an alternative to stationary places to live. Living in an RV on the property while their home is being rebuilt is a good option for the owner as they can be there to have a sense of familiarity while watching the reconstruction process. RVBusiness discovered some RV rental companies and dealerships in Southern California that have stepped up to help victims of these fires by offering discounts.

Living on the destroyed or damaged property in an RV also solves the issue of time limits for certain RV parks and campground closures. California State Parks, for instance, typically have a maximum camping stay of 30 days per calendar year. At this writing, most of Angeles National Forest (Eaton Fire) had just reopened to the public, but many of the popular trails and campgrounds will remain closed until the end of 2025 to recover. Malibu RV Park on Pacific Coast Highway was not affected by the Pacific Palisades Fire and is open for business. As a private campground, they have a six-month limit. The campground is offering a 20% discount on monthly rates for fire victims, and there were spaces available at this writing.

Los Angeles county-owned RV parks impose a three-week-long limit, which was temporarily lifted on January 28 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Said a spokesperson at Bonelli Bluffs RV Resort and Campground in San Dimas, a county-owned RV park, “Fire victims only can stay for 90 days, leave for one day and come back for 20 more days for a total of 110 days.” Discounts are offered at Bonelli, as well as at the also-county-owned Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey, located about 22 miles from where the Pacific Palisades Fire erupted.

According to Angel at privately owned Off the Grid RV Ranch in Lake Hughes in Northern Los Angeles County, fire victims only can stay up to nine months and then move to another site within the campground if one is available (sites are currently available). Off the Grid reopened last year after being closed for renovations and all 113 sites are equipped with sewer, water and electricity. The park accepts all size RVs year 2000 and newer.

A spokeswoman for Ventura Ranch KOA in Santa Paula said that RVers need to be approved if staying 90 days or more. Ventura Ranch is a franchise location so other KOAs may have different maximums.

RV Rental Discounts for Fire Victims

Based in the Los Angeles area, Chill RV is offering 60% off rentals through March 31 for folks affected by fire (and the date may get extended depending on need). The company rents only luxury, top-of-the-line 19- and 25-foot Mercedes Sprinter Class Bs and Cs so they can sit on standard driveways. Nika, a company spokesperson, said that some of these people are parking on the driveways of their homes that were partially damaged so they can feel connected to their homes and be able to be there for the rebuilding. Depending on the model motorhome, Chill RV’s rentals can sleep up to six and have a toilet, a shower and two TVs. Also very important for many of these displaced families is that these motorhomes are pet-friendly. Nika went on to explain that some Californians may not be aware of this but homeowner’s insurance will cover the RV rental through Additional Living Expenses (ALE) since they are required to pay for temporary housing, and that includes RVs.

RVBusiness spoke with Tinno at Tinno’s RV Rentals in Chino and he is offering discounts to those affected by the fires and will deliver the trailer to where needed and set it up. The company rents only Airstream trailers in various lengths.

Metro RV in Burbank offers Class A and B motorhome and travel trailer rentals and is offering various discounts depending upon length of time needed to rent. Carly at Metro said, “We are finding that people are living in an RV in their driveways to see if they can salvage anything from their homes.” The company will deliver the RV if needed. Carly said that they are working with insurance companies directly, plus they are offering free bedding and no cleaning fees. Service animals are okay and they will allow other qualifying pets (no puppies, for instance).

On El Monte RV’s rental page an alert says “Emergency temporary housing details” and monthly rental prices are listed for its Class As (31 to 34 feet) and Class Cs (21 to 31 feet). Currently, it is offering 20% off rentals for people affected by fire. And this: “We will be providing free delivery and kitchen and bedding supplies for free and a long-term discount.”

As RVB previously reported, Mike Thompson’s RV donated $50,000 to California Wildfires 2025 through the American Red Cross. The RV superstores, with five locations in California, also delivered pallets of protein bars and shakes to firefighters and first responders during the fires. Giant RV is making a generous donation to support the various organized relief efforts for every RV sold from all four Giant RV locations in Southern California during January through March 2025. This initiative aims to aid those who have lost their homes and belongings in the recent fires and the donation will be presented in the name of each customer who purchases an RV. Even a company in the Lone Star State has jumped in to assist. BTR Outfitters in Abilene, Texas, is offering its entire inventory of conversion vans at wholesale prices to help those displaced by the California fires.

Nonprofit Delivering Donated RVs

Started in 2018 after the Camp Fire in Northern California, the deadliest fire in California history, EmergencyRV.org has helped more than 255 families who have lost their homes to natural disasters all over the U.S. and Hawaii. After hearing about the Camp Fire, Founder Woody Faircloth started a GoFundMe account and raised money to buy a motorhome, which he filled with supplies, then drove from Denver, Colorado, to Northern California with his then-six-year-old daughter Luna to give the RV to a family who lost everything. A local news station aired a 30-second story on the father and daughter driving the RV to California and “by the time we got there, we had four RVs to deliver to families,” said Faircloth.

Explained Faircloth, “We do this through the generosity of fellow Americans who donate RVs and a great group of volunteers. Shelter is a basic human need, and we want to help those folks; we want to help our neighbors.” (The company is a 501c3.) Faircloth said, “One kind gesture turned into a blessing of helping so many families and I’m blessed to be doing this.”

EmergencyRV.org’s founder continued, “Right now we are focused on Southern California families affected by the fires and western North Carolina by Hurricane Helene. We have 150 families on our waiting list in the Los Angeles area and over 400 on our list in North Carolina where we have delivered and gifted 90 RVs in the last three months.” So far, Faircloth has handed over the keys and titles to five refurbished RVs to people who lost homes in the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires and “we are delivering several more RVs this week.” One donated RV went to a firefighter who just lost his Altadena home in the Eaton Fire.

The company takes donated RVs and financial donations to help with repairs, transporting and stocking the RVs through emergencyrv.org/take-action. Survivor intake forms can be found at emergencyrv.org/contact.

RV Purchase Discounts

David, owner of Galaxy Campers in Ontario, Calif., is offering 25% off new campers and travel trailers to fire victims. He carries Lance trailers and campers and Forest River Vibe trailers from 14 to 33 feet.

RVB talked with Jon at DeMartini RV Sales in Grass Valley who said, “Yes, we are helping out fire victims and are happy to offer deals to folks who lost their homes.” DeMartini sells mostly Class A coaches.

Airstream Los Angeles in San Gabriel is “working with fire victims to offer discounts on used and new trailers and free delivery. We are holding some Airstreams until safe to put them on the property.”

Simi RV in Simi Valley is also offering reduced rates for fire victims purchasing an RV.

Rentals Options

Other options for those seeking a temporary home on wheels include renting RVs directly through owners on peer-to-peer sites like RVshare, Outdoorsy and Good Sam. OutWander partners with RV rental companies and Cruise America has its own fleet of rental RVs. And websites like RVLife.com allows folks to browse thousands of campgrounds by state under its “Features” section.

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/rv-community-helps-victims-of-southern-california-fires/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rv-community-helps-victims-of-southern-california-fires