At least 11 people have died after wildfires ravaged communities and sent thousands of people fleeing their homes across Los Angeles and the surrounding California area
Alias star Jennifer Garner is mourning the loss of a friend killed in the Los Angeles wildfires.
The Golden Globe winner, 52, said her pal “did not get out in time” as several fires raged through communities across the California city. Now, the actress says she feels survivor’s guilt in the wake of the tragedy.
“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,” Jennifer, who lived in LA for 25 years, said.
“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?”
Jennifer has joined a string of other stars who are volunteering to help communities bereft following the disasters. Thousands of firefighters have been working around the clock to contain the wind-driven fires, which have killed at least 11 people and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their properties.
Jennifer, who was in Pearl Harbor, has helped provide 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.
She explained how her family’s Methodist church “full of really quirky, cool, mostly blue collar people” had burned to the ground during the blaze. The actress told US outlet MSNBC: “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. 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.
Jennifer and other 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. Jose was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his humanitarian work.
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. 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.
