"I was on the phone all day and all night," said Carl Gambino, a real estate agent with Gambino Group.

Since fires began ravaging Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Malibu, top real estate agents throughout Los Angeles (many of whom were evacuated themselves) have been working non-stop to serve clients, friends and strangers alike Provide housing. "I'm a public servant at this point," said Juliette Hohnen of Douglas Elliman. "I have to help anyone I can."

With economic losses estimated at $250 billion and approximately 75 percent of property in the Pacific Palisades region destroyed, the task seems daunting. Ghost listings are now plaguing Zillow, with dreamy interiors for sale that have since been reduced to ashes. Real estate agents know these lost homes better than anyone but the owners. "All of Alphabet Street was destroyed," Horning said. "I have about $150 million in the pipeline, and I would say $30 or 40 million of that is burned."

Aaron Kirman of AKG said |Seventy clients of Christie's International Real Estate lost their homes. The shocking death toll caused Los Angeles' often-conflicted real estate community to quickly unite. “We immediately coordinated with nearly every broker in Los Angeles and made a list of all available furnished rentals and leases,” Gambino said.

Openings become overcrowded as victims try to find homes already on the market to purchase. Many agents, like Tomer Friedman of the Friedman Group, have been hosting late-night showings to help clients. During a show in Santa Monica on Thursday night, 25 families came to tour the house, all victims of the fire. By the next morning, its owner had received five offers.

Brokers are also looking for unique ways to add inventory. “We’re mobilizing all our resources, every client that has a second or third home, to try to get them to provide access — to rent, to sell, whatever it is,” Friedman said.

Hohnen is also open to wealthy clients who own multiple properties. "I suggested, 'Why don't you go live in a house in Palm Springs? Or why don't you go to Palm Beach? Why don't you spend three months in Europe?" she said. "I'll rent it."

Many customers responded, eager to help. "We got a call from a client who had a large house on the market that was worth almost $30 million," Friedman said. "She just said, 'If there are displaced families, put them in temporarily. There, we would postpone viewings. ""

Realtors are frustrated that in a market where inventory is already low, some opportunists are illegally raising rents, especially in "safer" neighborhoods. “A house in Beverly Hills that was asking $40,000 a month suddenly asked for $60,000 four days later,” one agent said. Malibu native Chad Rogers, owner of the Hilton and Highland hotels, added, "My biggest concern is that we're going to see people trying to take advantage of our residents in this highly debilitated state."

Many of the displaced people are seeking housing in Brentwood, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Malibu West and Manhattan Beach, according to real estate agents. But some are planning to say goodbye to Los Angeles altogether. "A large number of customers were either directly affected or were in close proximity to the fires and were looking to move to New York and Miami," Gambino said.

For those who choose to rebuild, agents can expect to go through a multi-year process. All expressed concerns about whether insurance claims would be honored, especially in beach areas where home insurance is traditionally underinsured. "Our insurance system was broken before these fires," Kilman said. "They really have to fix this because Los Angeles deserves insurance."

There are ways to build back better. The agency's Sandro Dazzan stayed on to help put out the fire in his hometown of Malibu, saving his home and others. He advised homeowners to be more vigilant in protecting their homes. "The houses that survived were the ones that had defensible space," he said. "So, there's no landscaping next to the house, no exposed or open eaves. Apparently, some materials are less flammable than others: There's a tile roof and stucco, not shingles or wood siding."

There are also gel systems that can coat an entire house with fire retardant at the push of a button, Dazan noted. "Having a fire suppression system, a pool pump, hundreds of feet of fire hose, knowing how to hook them up" is also critical, Dazan said.

Agents realize their work has just begun. "We're here to support our customers. We're here to help rebuild the community," Kilman said. "So we're all doing what we can to serve."

This story appears in the Jan. 17 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.