As wildfires continue to sweep through the Los Angeles area, the team behind Final Fantasy 14 has made the decision to pause the automatic demolition of player housing on North American servers. This move ensures that those caught up in the natural disaster, and unable to log into the game, won’t find their virtual homes lost.
The housing demolition feature has been temporarily halted for the Aether, Crystal, Dynamis, and Primal data centers since January 9 at 8:20 p.m. PT. Developers stated they will keep a close eye on the evolving situation in Southern California before deciding when to resume it. Typically, in Final Fantasy 14, players risk losing their in-game properties if they haven’t accessed them in over 45 days because of how coveted they are within the game’s community.
In a heartfelt message, the Final Fantasy 14 team shared, “Our thoughts are with those impacted by the mountain fires near Los Angeles in North America. We hope for a swift recovery and look forward to welcoming back those affected into FF14 soon.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, the fires have claimed at least 10 lives, forced over 100,000 residents to evacuate, destroyed 9,000 structures, and scorched tens of thousands of acres. For those who wish to lend a hand, the LA Times has compiled an extensive list of organizations currently accepting donations to aid those in need.
