Valley Fire Victims Say Some Hotels Near Wildfire Were Price Gouging

CLEARLAKE OAKS (CBS13) — We're hearing from some viewers who say hotels near where the Lake Fire burned are price gouging fire victims.

"I cried this morning to my dad," said Melissa Sallee. "I said how can people do this? There's people who lost everything and don't have the money."

Fortunately, her home in Cobb is fine, but she's still evacuated and unable to go home.

The Chamber of Commerce in Ukiah says authorities are looking into complaints of price gouging.

Closer to the fire, CBS13 has confirmed that the Lake Point Lodge in Clearlake Oaks raised its rates from between $119 and $169 over the weekend to $249.

General Manager Kevin Parmar says his worker made a mistake.

"Because there was so much demand, the prices went up and it was not authorized by management," he said. "He's very apologetic about what he did and it's just—it won't ever happen again."

Parmar says he's since fully refunded everyone who was charged the higher rate, allowing those guests to stay for free. He says he's also offering for 10 families a week to stay for free. The Moose Lodge where people are sleeping in tents will choose those families.