'We're going to be there': Evacuated Los Angeles couple housing dozens of wildfire victims

Two Los Angeles lawyers who joined thousands of evacuees fleeing catastrophic wildfires have opened their hearts and wallets to help those who've been devastated by the blazes.

Gina Zapanta and her husband Michael Alder are providing emergency housing and essential supplies to over a 100 people as multiple wildfires continue to rage across the region.

The couple, who run the Los Angeles-based law firm Z.A. Lawyers, voluntarily and temporarily evacuated with their children to a local hotel on Tuesday after a wind "so ferocious and scary" caused a transformer explosion, leaving their Sherman Oaks home without electricity, Zapanta told USA TODAY on Friday.

The next morning, the family went down to the lobby, where the phones were "ringing off the hook."

"'I thought, 'You know what? This is going to be bad,'" Zapanta said. "In our law firm, we already have a community outreach department because we do monthly food drives, so we know the need is there and we know how quickly these things can change."

Zapanta booked 10 hotel rooms and later took to social media to offer the accommodations to anyone in the area who needed a place to stay free of charge.

The hotel rooms she initially booked filled "very quickly" after the Instagram video, posted Wednesday morning, took off. Because of the high demand, she and her husband decided to book as many as they could, eventually housing over 160 adults, children and pets in 52 hotel rooms in Hollywood, Burbank, Sherman Oaks, and handing out essential supplies like toothpaste and diapers.

"As more people are returning to their homes and finding that they're gone, the need just shot up. We are prepared and capable of doing this," Zapanta said. "It's just never been under such urgency and desperation."

Local couple and others will continue to offer mutual aid

The question now, according to Zapanta, is how effective and how much farther the mutual aid they're currently offering can go.

Zapanta and her team have set up a website, where people can request emergency house through an online form and donate money or time to help support the cause. A free care package distribution event is also scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Pasadena.

"This is not a flash in the pan," Zapanta said. "We are built to sustain and do long-term support; we're looking down the road."

Especially, when the news is no longer trending, and people are processing the effects of the loss they have experienced, from their children's toys to their favorite creamer in the refrigerator.

"When that settles in after all of this stops, we're going to be there as this release net and continue. We do self-fund a lot of this, but as long as we can keep pushing what we're doing and getting support from people, from the dollar beyond, that will allow us to continue it," Zapanta said. "Because we're going to continue it, period."

Zapanta and her husband view it as both a responsibility and a privilege.

From the multi-billionaires who lost vacation homes to a single mom with a 9-month-old who saved her whole life to buy her first house, a loss is a loss, Zapanta said.

"There is no greater fulfillment than helping someone in need," Zapanta said. "The fear-mongering that's out there, people feel the world is falling apart, everyone hates each other and there's evil everywhere, which does exist, but the light always outshines the dark."

Track wildfires burning across the Los Angeles area

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Evacuated Los Angeles couple housing dozens of wildfire victims