“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned on Monday after halting production late last week because of the wildfires that continue to rage in Los Angeles.
ABC
“As you know, it has been a very scary, very stressful, very strange week in LA,” the comedian said with a shaky voice. “Where we work. Where we live. Where our kids go to school. We are back at our studio, which we had to evacuate on Wednesday.”
He then showed local news outlets capturing flames spreading over a hill near the El Capitan Theatre. “That’s our building right there, the El Capitan,” Kimmel remarked. “That’s how close this fire was to our theater here.”
The fires have affected others on the show, as Kimmel noted: “Many of us had to leave our homes in a hurry, some of our co-workers lost their homes. It’s been terrible.”
“Everyone who lives in this city knows someone — most of us multiple people, families, friends, colleagues, neighbors — whose house has burned down. And the truth is we don’t even know if it’s over.”
Firefighters watch as water is dropped on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles.
AP
Taking a moment to acknowledge how Los Angeles residents have come together to support one another amid the devastation, Kimmel said: “I think I speak for all of us when I say: It has been a sickening, shocking, awful experience.
“But it has also been, in a lot of ways, a beautiful experience because once again we see our fellow men and women coming together to support each other,” he continued. “People who lost their own homes were out volunteering in parking lots helping others who lost theirs.”
Kimmel and Guillermo Rodriguez described the fires on Monday’s show.
ABC
Also visibly emotional during the show was his sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez, who nearly had to leave his home as well.
“Guillermo almost had to come live with me. He almost had to evacuate on Thursday night,” Kimmel recalled. “We had 19 people living with us and four dogs. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”
Kimmel said many of his staff had to evacuate, and some lost their homes.
ABC
Firefighters have been working around the clock to put out at least six fires in Los Angeles — the largest being the Palisades and Eaton fires that have now collectively scorched more than 35,000 acres and counting.
The wildfires could cause $150 billion in damages, making it the most expensive blaze in US history, according to a report.
But Southern California is not out of the woods yet, as it faces an unprecedented “extreme fire risk” Tuesday with the return of powerful Santa Ana winds. Forecasters warned these winds may even reach up to 75 mph.
A view of houses at Malibu Beach that burned during the Palisades wildfire in California on Jan. 10, 2025.
“The extreme fire risk continues in Southern California today,” Fox Forecast Center Meteorologist Christopher Tate told The Post.
“We will see conditions gradually improve once we get past today, but strong wind gusts are still possible, and could exacerbate fire conditions and lead to new fires starting.”
