US actress Jennifer Garner said she feels survivors guilt as she led stars volunteering in the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires, following the death of a friend “who did not get out in time”.
Thousands of firefighters have been working around the clock to contain the wind-driven fires in California which have killed at least 11 people, ravaged communities, and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their properties.
Garner was among the volunteers providing food relief for evacuees as well as first responders, working alongside World Central Kitchen founder chef Jose Andres at one of the charity’s many pop-up locations around California.
Standing amid the rubble of her hometown of 25 years, an emotional Garner told US outlet MSNBC: “I did lose a friend, and for our church it’s really tender, so I don’t feel like I should talk about her yet.
“I did lose a friend who did not get out in time.”
She continued: “My heart bleeds for my friends. There are 5000 homes lost, I can write out a list of 100 friends who lost their homes.
“I feel almost guilty walking through my house, what can I do, how can I help, what can I offer?”
The 52-year-old explained how her family’s Methodist church “full of really quirky, cool, mostly blue collar people” had burned to the ground during the blaze.
“It’s where my kids went to Sunday school, we lit the advent candle together there a couple of weeks ago, we watched the little kids perform, it’s a preschool, it’s a central place for our community.
“I loved belonging there because wherever I went I would run into somebody.”
13 Going On 30 star Garner was pictured serving food to the firefighters battling the blaze with the World Central Kitchen, whose founder Mr Andres was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his humanitarian work.
“I’ve lived in and around the Palisades for 25 years, so I just think all of us, we want to get our hands into working, somehow to be helpful,” Garner added.
“And because of my work with Save The Children, we have a relationship with chef (Mr Andres), and I was able to just say, ‘Can I be with you for the day? What can I do to help, put me to work.”
Many Hollywood stars have used their platforms to share links to helpful evacuation resources and donation pages, as well as highlighting the work of firefighters and aid organisations.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are understood to have donated supplies to people affected by the weather event, alongside Oscar-nominated actress Sharon Stone who encouraged stars to make donations to a distribution centre.
As a result, Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry said she was “packing up my entire closet” and donating it “to help all of the displaced families that are in need of the basics”, before thanking Stone for her “leadership” in taking charge.
Fellow Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Pfeiffer and Selling Sunset’s Chrishell Stause commented on Berry’s post, with their plans to drop off items.
Jason Oppenheim of Selling Sunset also offered free representation to help people find homes.
Meanwhile Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her family pledged one million dollars (£812,000) to start a “fund of support” for those affected by the wildfires.
After the Kenneth fire reportedly saw members of the Kardashian family evacuate from their Calabasas and Hidden Hills homes, matriarch Kris Jenner said her family reached out to their favourite Armenian restaurant to “feed a few fire houses”.
“They whipped up hundreds of individual meals for so many firefighters, volunteers, first responders, and we could not be more thankful. Thank you for putting your lives on the line for all of us,” she wrote on her Instagram story.
Her daughter Kim Kardashian also said she donated to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation “providing critical resources to the heroic first responders protecting our city”, as well as making a “sizeable donation of underwear, clothing, and socks to Baby2Baby to help those displaced by the fires”.
Entertainment company LiveNation also announced a charity concert titled FireAid will take place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, which will be “dedicated to rebuilding communities devastated by wildfires and supporting efforts to prevent future fire disasters throughout Southern California”.
The event is billed as an “evening of music and solidarity” and will take place on January 30 – with performers yet to be announced.
The Pacific Palisades fire, which broke out on Tuesday, remains the largest fire devastating Los Angeles, having destroyed over 21,000 acres and continues to burn.
Reality star Paris Hilton, When Harry Met Sally actor Billy Crystal, The Princess Bride star Cary Elwes and Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges were among the celebrities who lost their homes.
This Is Us actor Milo Ventimiglia drew parallels between watching his Malibu home burn and the fate of his character Jack Pearson in drama This Is Us, who suffers from smoke inhalation after his home is destroyed by a fire in the hit series.
While Mandy Moore, who plays his on-screen wife in This Is Us, also confirmed she lost part of her home in the flames.
Oscar-winning actor and director Mel Gibson later revealed the home he had lived in for over a decade had burned while he was appearing on an episode of the Joe Rogan podcast.
While US actor Miles Teller’s wife Keleigh Sperry also confirmed the couple had lost their home to the Palisades blaze, as she wished “I grabbed my wedding dress” in the mass evacuation.
The fires have thrown Hollywood’s awards season into disarray, with the Critics Choice Awards and the Oscar nominations among events rescheduled.
