Short-term housing options available for families impacted by wildfires

OKLAHOMA CITY — Short-term housing options are available for Oklahomans who lost their homes in this month’s wildfires. 

Reports from the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management have tallied more than 500 homes that have been destroyed across the state. 

Over the weekend, Oklahoma Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster hosted a series of multi-agency resource centers near impacted communities. Among the agencies at the resource centers was the Oklahoma Housing Finance Authority, which provided $1,500 housing assistance grants to eligible families who showed up in person. 

In Payne County, nearly 200 homes were lost to the wildfires. 

“We were watching this house catch on fire, and then this house would catch on fire, then this house would catch on fire,” said Stillwater Emergency Management Director Rob Hill. “And the glows would just pop up on the horizon and just go.” 

In Stillwater, Mayor Will Joyce encouraged residents in need to email stillwaterstrongrelief@gmail.com for help with short-term housing. 

In Norman, the City Council approved a measure on Tuesday night to allow affected people to live in a temporary housing unit while rebuilding their permanent homes. 

Across the state, Oklahomans can also utilize AirBnB.org, a charitable enterprise affiliated with AirBnB.com, for free housing after a disaster. Oklahomans can access the resource by calling 211, which will verify the address of their home being in an affected wildfire area. 

“We see new hosts sign up specifically to open their home for free to people who have been displaced by disasters like the fires in Oklahoma, and I think that’s just a really powerful part of the model,” a spokesperson for AirBnB said. 

Oklahomans in need can access a rental depending on their needs, such as bigger units for larger families, or accessible units for people with disabilities, or pet-friendly rentals.