Jennifer Garner has opened up about her ‘heart bleeding’ for all her friends affected by the Palisades fire, including one friend tragically passing away.
The fires raging through California have caused devastation across Los Angeles, leaving thousands of structures and homes damaged or destroyed, leading hundreds of thousands to be forced to evacuate and at least 11 confirmed to have been killed.
And one of those who has passed away is reported as being a friend of Jennifer Garner.
Garner and World Central Kitchen’s Chef José Andrés joined MSNBC reporter Katy Tur in the area of the Palisades, surrounded by rubble and debris of buildings and homes lost to the blaze.
The trio were surrounded by buildings ruined by the fires (YouTube/ MSNBC)
The 13 Going on 30 star explained: “I’ve lived in and around the Palisades for 25 years so I think all of us, we want to get our hands into working somehow to be helpful. because of my work with save the children I have a relationship with Chef 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’.”
Garner revealed her ‘best friend’s house’ used to be ‘down the street’ and had a gong in the front year.
She reflected: “There were so many kids that played in the street and they’d hit the gong at the end of the day and call them home just like neighborhoods across the country. It is not some far away place that you can’t reach. this is the street we run down on 5Ks, this is where the firetruck that – God bless our firefighters – goes on the 4th of July parade.
“This is a neighborhood.”
The actor then acknowledged she actually ‘did lose a friend’ to the fires however, she noted her friend’s passing is still ‘really tender’ for the church community in the area she won’t ‘talk about her yet,’ although she confirmed: “I did lose a friend who did not get out in time.”
Appearing to fight back tears, she continued: “My heart bleeds for my friends. I can think of 100 families and there are 5,000 homes lost. I could 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 do I have to offer with these hands and these walls and the safety I have?”
Garner resolved: “It is an incredible thing to watch World Central Kitchen and Chef José just come in and – ‘We’ve got this handled. We’ve got you’.”
Meanwhile, Chef José emphasized: “The most important thing here is once the cameras are gone, once everybody forgets what’s happening we’ve seen – like in Nashville and North Carolina – what we need to make sure […] is we cannot leave these communities forgotten.
“Everybody has to remember them […] so they can start reconstruction […] We need to make sure the people who lost their jobs, probably for weeks or months, they’re not going to have an income, that we take care of those people.”
You can support those affected by the fires by donating to the Red Cross online, by calling (800) 733-2767 or texting REDCROSS to 90999.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email info@grievewell.com.
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Featured Image Credit: MSNBC/YouTube/Anadolu/Getty
Topics: Celebrity, US News, Los Angeles, Wildfires, California
Police have revealed a man has been arrested on suspicion of trying to light a fire in Los Angeles amid the devastation being caused by wildfires.
After the Palisades fire broke out on Tuesday, multiple others have broken out over California, sweeping through the state and engulfing Los Angeles.
At around 4:30pm yesterday (January 9), a man was spotted by locals in the Ybarra Road area of the Woodland Hills area allegedly trying to start a fire, the residents immediately calling police.
The man was spotted on a bicycle, riding around with a blow torch in his hand, Fox 11 Los Angeles reports. Using the blow torch, the man was allegedly attempting to set fire to garbage cans and old Christmas trees lying out on the street.
Local, Renata Grinshpun, told KTLA 5: “We were sitting in the backyard and suddenly, we hear a car come to a screeching halt and the guy is running out saying, ‘Stop! Drop what you’re holding! Neighbors, he’s trying to start a fire! Call 911!’”
Grinshpun reports seeing a man with a ‘propane tank or a flamethrower’ and explains a group of locals then rallied together and followed the man, catching him and even zip-tying him to prevent him from doing anything or running off before authorities arrived at the scene.
Another resident told FOX 11: “He was very, like, ‘I can’t stop. I can’t stop. I’m not putting this down. I’m doing this’. And [he was] very focused on moving forward with the blow torch. And we’re like, ‘We can’t be doing that right now.'”
Senior lead officer Charles Dinsel confirmed a man was caught allegedly attempting to start a fire and has been arrested, videos from the scene showing authorities apprehending him.
Five fires are sweeping through California (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
The investigation
An LAPD spokesperson told The Telegraph: “About 20 to 30 minutes later a suspect was detained over in Woodland Hills area by citizens. It is being investigated as a crime.”
It’s now being investigated whether the suspect is connected to any of the fires currently causing devastation across Los Angeles.
The Telegraph reports it’s being considered whether or not the suspect is connected to the Kenneth Fire which has been raging in the West Hills, burning over 950 acres of land and forcing residents to evacuate, officials reportedly questioning whether one of the fires is actually the result of a possible arson attack.
At the time of writing, nearly 30,000 acres of Los Angeles has been attacked by fires, five massive fires raging on, the death toll as a result of the fires having risen to 10 and is expected as rising further.
LADbible Group has contacted Los Angeles Police Department Topanga Community Police Station for comment.
You can support those affected by the fires by donating to the Red Cross online, by calling (800) 733-2767 or texting REDCROSS to 90999.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email info@grievewell.com.
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Brother and sister-in-law of Mandy Moore, Kit and Griffin Goldsmith, have opened up about ‘trying to figure out’ what to do after losing their home in the Eaton Fire.
Singer and actor Mandy Moore – full name Amanda Leigh Moore – who rose to fame with her 1999 debut single ‘Candy’, is one of the of hundreds of thousands of people affected by the fire wildfires burning through California, destroying thousands of structures in Los Angeles and having taken the lives of at least 10 people.
However, when Moore shared a GoFundMe to help raise funds for her brother and sister-in-law who’d lost their home to the Eaton Fire just weeks before their baby is due to arrive, the singer seemingly faced backlash.
The fundraiser was set up by Hilary Duff’s husband, Matthew Koma, and detailed Griffin – a touring musician – losing all of his drums and studio gear in the fire, adding the kit helps him to ‘make a living’.
Moore reshared the GoFundMe on Instagram encouraging followers to donate, however, she was seemingly met with some backlash, adding: “People questioning whether we’re helping out our own family or attributing some arbitrary amount of money Google says someone has is NOT helpful or empathetic. Of course we are. Our buddy Matt started this GoFundMe and I’m sharing because people have asked how they can help them.”
Kit and Griffin have since appeared on CNN’s The Lead and when asked how they’re going to try and navigate their way forward, weeks away from having a baby, Kit said: “That’s a question we’re trying to figure out. We had an immense support group in Altadena. You know they say it takes a village to raise a family and Altadena was a vibrant village we were really relying on in this next phase of our life.
The couple are weeks away from welcoming a baby (CNN)
“Without that, we don’t have any answers. We don’t know. We’re very fortunate to still have family and friends in LA. Griffin and I are both from Los Angeles, we grew up in this city, we love this city so much. And seeing it just be destroyed from end-to-end and everyone who is losing everything is a nightmare.
Breaking down in tears, she continued: “We feel for everyone who is going through this and we know we’re going to bring into this world another sweet little boy and he will also be a part of this city and we will raise him when we rebuild.”
Griffin added: “It’s a test and we know what really matters and it is exactly that, everything… we spent out life building. I just try to remind myself the things I really care for – my family, my animals – I’m still a musician even if I’m devoid of all my instruments.”
“It is awful and desire but on the other hand it’s been incredibly inspiring to see the support, everybody is just filling the space with love, it’s overwhelming.”
The pair’s home was lost to the Eaton Fire (CNN/ Instagram/ Mandy Moore)
Kit resolved: “Amidst all the loss is an abundance of love, it’s incredible.”
Like many, the couple are now faced with the question of whether or not to remain in Southern California and re-build their property or relocate, holding on and waiting to see what happens.
You can support those affected by the fires by donating to the Red Cross online, by calling (800) 733-2767 or texting REDCROSS to 90999.
Wildfires are sweeping across California, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes.
A fire broke out in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening (January 7) near a nature reserve in the inland foothills north-east of the city, with incredibly dry conditions and high winds causing it to spread at an alarming rate.
It spread so quickly that staff at a care home had to push dozens of elderly residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a car park.
Three different wildfires in total have broken out: The Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire, and the Hurst Fire.
Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there has been very little rain so far this season.
The area has not seen more than 0.1in of rain since early May, say PA.
California Govenor Gavin Newsom has since declared a state of emergency, saying last night: “This is a highly dangerous windstorm creating extreme fire risk, and we’re not out of the woods.”
Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes before of the wildfires (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The winds were expected to increase overnight, producing isolated gusts that could top 100mph in mountains and foothills – including in areas that have not seen substantial rain in months.
And conditions are expected to continue worsen over today and tomorrow, with the The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection issuing a red flag warning for this timeframe.
This warning covers Greater Los Angeles County, San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys, San Diego & Riverside Mountains, Eastern San Diego Valleys, Inland Orange County, Santa Ana Mountains, Inland Empire, and San Bernardino Foothills, as per a tweet shared by the governing body.
As the fires continue to ravage parts of the LA, someone who was on a plane recorded a birds eye-view of what the devastating scenes looked like.
Five fires are blazing through California, with Los Angeles engulfed by flames. At the time of writing, nearly 30,000 acres of land has been ravaged, over 9,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed and the fires have claimed the lives of at least 10 people, the number expected to continue to rise.
Rodney Nickerson, 82, is one of the victims of the Eaton Fire, his daughter Kimiko having since opened up about her dad’s decision not to leave his home in Altadena.
She continued: “This is the house that I came home to as a child and I’ve been here my whole life, I don’t know anywhere else other than here.
“Myself and my brother and my son, Chase and his other grandchildren, this is where we’ve been our whole life.”
The daughter noted she and the rest of the family and neighbors tried their best to get Rodney to evacuate but he refused.
Kimiko Nickerson’s father Rodney Nickerson passed away in the Eaton Fire (KCAL News)
Despite his grandson packing up the car and encouraging him to leave, Kimiko says Rodney told him he ‘didn’t need to go right now’.
Kimiko said: “He said he’ll be fine. ‘I’ll be here when you guys come back’. And he said his house will be here.”
The ‘last thing he verbally said’ to Kimiko was: “I’ll be here tomorrow.”
The daughter reflected: “His house was here and he was here too, he was in his bed when I found him. We found his bones, his whole body was there intact.”
She added to Sky News: “Like all of us on this block, in four blocks, he didn’t think it was going to be this devastating.
“It jumped whole streets, and it hit this community, but it didn’t touch the mountainside at all.”
Kimiko has opened up about her father’s decision to stay (KCAL News)
Kimiko said she has ‘no words to explain [her] feelings at this point in time’.
“I’m just silent and numb and just mentally trying to go through the process,” she added.
She resolved: “Every laugh, every joke he told. He was a smart man. He read the LA Times from cover to cover and walked around the Rose Bowl every day.
