FFXIV once again suspends automatic housing demolition due to California wildfires

No matter where you are in the world, the news of California’s raging wildfires seems to be at the top of everybody’s news feed. Thousands of acres of the US state have been swept through by devastating flames, and this has been noticed by the powers that be at Final Fantasy XIV. 

In news shared via the Lodestone on January 9, the FFXIV team has temporarily canceled the automatic demolition of player housing on North American servers, giving players in the affected areas some breathing room while they tackle much more pressing real-life devastation caused by the fires in Hurst, Kenneth, Eaton, and the worst affected, Palisades. 

So far, ten people are confirmed to have been killed in the fires, while uncountable people are facing the stark reality of a life completely changed by the devastation sweeping the state. Terrifying footage of the disaster has been shared online, and reports are harrowing. The development and management team at FFXIV said their “hearts go out to those who are affected” by the fires and that it is their “sincere hope that recovery is swift.” 

The suspension began at 8:20 p.m. PST and is in place until further notice, with the FFXIV team keeping a close eye on how the situation develops over the coming weeks. It’s worth noting that when the suspension ends, the countdown will begin from where it left off, so if you were at risk of demolition before the suspension you will be straight back there when the suspension lifts. 

Housing estates enter the auto-demolition status in FFXIV after being unentered by the owner or any FC member for one month. Entering your estate for any period of time will cancel the auto-demolition status.

The suspension of player housing demolition in FFXIV is becoming an all-too-common occurrence, with 2024 seeing it happen twice for Japan’s Noto Peninsula earthquake in January and Hurricane Helene in October. Before that, automatic demolition suspensions were implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and the Fukushima earthquake in 2016.