Devastating wildfires have ravaged Los Angeles County leading to thousands of Angelenos losing their homes. As communities came together, A-listers have also been stepping up with Angelina Jolie among those to reveal that they are housing evacuated family and friends.
Angelina was pictured with her son Knox, 16, at a grocery store where they were seen buying packages of bottled water, and the Oscar winner told photographers that she was sheltering friends at her Los Feliz home.
Jamie Lee Curtis revealed via social media that she donated $1 million to disaster relief efforts, while the Kardashian and Jenner family also donated to fire fighters with Carousel Restaurant, which specializes in Lebanese-Armenian cuisine, thanking the reality stars for funding meals that were delivered to several fire stations.
Selling Sunset’s Jason Oppenheimer has revealed that his agency will represent anyone impacted by the wildfires for free.
‘If you’ve lost your home in the Los Angeles fires and you need to find a place to rent until your home is rebuilt, all Oppenheim Group agents will represent you for free or credit you back any commission we receive in the transaction,” the businessman shared on social media.
“Please reach out to us at office@ogroup.com.”
© Getty ImagesEleven people have died in the fires, and Rory Sykes, a child star in the UK, was among those, with his mom, Shelley, sharing the news on social media.
She wrote: “It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son Rory Sykes to the Malibu fires yesterday. I’m totally heart broken.”
The 32-year-old appeared in the 90s UK show Kiddy Kapers, and he died in his Malibu cottage which was on the same acreage of her mom’s Mount Malibu TV Studio estate.
© Rory SykesRory had been born blind and with cerebral palsy, and his mom shared that he had difficulty walking.
The fires have swept through 39,000 acres in the greater Los Angeles area; more than 12,000 structures have been destroyed across several communities and over 150,000 people have been evacuated.
Evacuation orders for the largest blaze, the Palisades Fire, have expanded towards Brentwood and Encino, and almost 160,000 LA residents were under evacuation orders overnight by Saturday morning.
© Anadolu via Getty ImagesThe Palisades Fire began on January 7 and is now over 21,000 acres, less than 11% contained.
The fire exploded overnight into the morning of January 11 and is surging toward the Brentwood and Encino neighborhoods, forcing further evacuations.
Footage by local news affiliate Fox 11 captured the frightening and awe-inspiring moment that the fire was whipped up by the ongoing Santa Ana winds creating a “firenado”.
Also known as fire whirls, the phenomenon is caused by intense rising heat and turbulent wind conditions combining to form whirling eddies of air.
The majority of the neighborhood north of Santa Monica has been leveled, with most residents still unable to return to sift through the damage.
© Getty ImagesThe Eaton Fire, in the hills above Altadena, has destroyed several communities, and remains at 15% contained.
Thousands of Angelenos have begun volunteering and donating to help displaced families including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex who made an unannounced visit to the community of Pasadena on Friday January 10 to volunteer alongside Chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen.
The two were pictured by members of the community who had been impacted by the Eaton Fire.
© Alamy Stock PhotoHELLO! understands that during the visit they served meals outside the Pasadena Convention Centre, where WCK has set up, and they were joined by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and met with elderly individuals and families who had been displaced.
They also visited the Pasadena Rose Bowl where they met and thanked Fire Chief Marrone and his team from the LA County Fire Department, and members of CalFire and the Pasadena Police Force.
Among the thousands of homes destroyed include family homes for Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, Spencer and Heidi Pratt, Milo Ventimiglia, Anna Faris, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Anthony Hopkins.
