Walmart has had a long-standing policy of allowing people to park overnight at it stores. As long as those folks are gone when regular business starts there isn’t a problem. This has resulted in two parking lots all across the country being turned into pop up camping spots or destinations for teens hanging out and even radio broadcasts. In the aftermath of the Northern California wildfires, a Walmart parking lot in Chico has become a valuable refuge for the survivors. Dozens of people have set up tents and are living out of their cars in what has become a much-needed focal point for volunteers, donations and the occasional food truck that offers free meals.

“We have the space,” said Tiffany Wilson, a Walmart spokeswoman, to an online news organization. “A community started to develop,” she said, and then “donations started to pour in, and then more and more people started to come for the access to food and clothing. Now people are stopping by to drop off things like trailers and boxes of diapers.”

At last count around 52,000 people have been displaced by these wildfires. Local shelters could only take in around 1,400. That left a lot of people with no place to go until word got out that space was available at the Walmart parking. Instead of ignoring the plight of these displaced folks, Walmart has reached out and done a lot of work to make it a bit more habitable by installing portable toilets and distributing free tents and water.

“Being around other folks and sharing stories has been healing” for the people in the parking lot, Wilson said, and “folks keep coming.”

The local shelters in the area have been stretched thin with their resources and many folks feel as though they’re not getting the help that they need. When a rumor spread a few days ago that Walmart would be clearing out the parking lot, many of those who were using the space grew quite upset. Fortunately, it was just a rumor.

“Walmart is not kicking anyone out and Walmart has not set a deadline,” she said. “We are happy to have been able to support the community. We have associates that have lost their homes and loved ones.”

The concern now is what will happen when predicted rain starts to fall. Additional shelter space has opened up at a nearby fairground and that might prove to be a better this destination for these displaced people. In the meantime, Walmart and volunteers are doing all they can to help folks slowly put their lives back together even if that just means space in a parking lot.