Meredith Lodging’s Oregon Coast vacation rental owners swiftly stepped-up to help house evacuees
As the Oregon Wildfires raged across the state last week, the Echo Creek fire advanced on Lincoln County at a pace so fast many local residents were left with only minutes to flee their homes and evacuate to safety. Local Lincoln County families found themselves running for their lives, some with just the clothes on their backs. As the LEAVE NOW order went into effect, the teams at Meredith Lodging reached out to their Owners to ask for assistance, and these Oregon Coast vacation rental owners swiftly stepped-up to help.
“In addition to our Firefighters and First Responders, the other heroes of this story are the Owners of
Meredith Lodging vacation homes. They immediately, and in large numbers, offered their homes, free of cost, as safe respite to local citizens, First Responders and Meredith Lodging employees in need of shelter,” commented Meredith Lodging Founder Meredith Oksenholt. “Within hours, local residents went from fleeing their homes to being able to land in a safe place…a beautiful home a short distance away where they could gather together and begin to recover from this terrifying event. Owners with homes all along the Oregon Coast – from
Waldport to Seaside, welcomed our displaced community members. We cannot overstate the impact of this gift from our Owners – they are the reason we were able to secure the safety of all of our employees as well as many local citizens and First Responders.”
Thanks to the Owners offering up their homes, Meredith Lodging was able to begin placing people within an hour of the LEAVE NOW evacuation order. These displaced local residents and families described a horrific evacuation situation amidst rapidly advancing wildfires, their homes being surrounded by fire and having only minutes to flee their homes. In addition, some local First Responders found themselves suddenly displaced with nothing other than what they left the house with that morning. Meredith Lodging Owners continue to reach out to the company with ongoing offers of support, and the company has also secured clothing and food for their impacted employees and community members in need.
“It is a such bright spot amidst a very scary time to see our community come together so quickly to serve others,” said Oksenholt. She continued, “While we are thankful that many of our employees were able to return to their homes this weekend, we also have several employees and local residents who lost almost everything or whose homes are not livable in their current state. Our employees are our extended family and Lincoln County is our home. We will continue to work with our Owners, members of our team and local community leaders to identify all the ways we can help our impacted employees and other impacted residents recover. We love Lincoln County; it is where many of our families have lived for generations. We are a community that comes together during trying times, and together we will help the residents of Lincoln County recover.”
Meredith Lodging will continue to coordinate offers of housing from their Oregon Coast Owners. If you have a vacation home in Oregon and would like more information about donating time to local residents in need, please contact Meredith Lodging at
[email protected]