Jennifer Garner became emotional as she revealed she lost a friend from church in the Los Angeles wildfires.
The actress, 52, choked up as she told MSNBC on Friday, January 10 that one of her friends died in the wildfires ravaging parts of Los Angeles including the Pacific Palisades area, Malibu, Santa Monica and the Hollywood Hills.
“I did lose a friend, and for our church, it’s really tender so I don’t feel like we should talk about it yet,” Garner told the outlet. “I did lose a friend. She didn’t get out in time.”
The Family Switch actress added that she felt for those who had lost their homes in the devastating fires.
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“My heart bleeds for my friends,” Garner said. “I mean, I can think of 100 families, and there are 5,000 homes lost. I can — without even [thinking] — I could just write out a list of 100 friends who lost their homes.”
She added: “I feel almost guilty walking through my house. You know, what can I do? How can I help? What can I offer? What do I have to offer with these hands and these walls and the safety that I have?”
Garner has been rolling up her sleeves to help out amid the wildfire outbreak, volunteering at one of Chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen pop-ups in Los Angeles County. These have been set up to help feed evacuees who have been forced to flee their homes due to the fires.
“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 said. “And because of my work with Save the Children, we have a relationship with the 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.’”
A string of wind-caused wildfires broke out in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday, January 7, quickly causing mass devastation. Many residents have left the city limits under mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders and thousands are estimated to have lost their homes.
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Many celebrities have also been impacted by the wildfires, including Mandy Moore, Paris Hilton, Spencer Pratt and Milo Ventimiglia, who all lost their residences to the blaze.
Hollywood has also canceled a slew of events over the past few days including premieres for The Last Showgirl, Wolf Man and Jennifer Lopez’s Unstoppable as well as The Critics Choice Awards, among others.
Check the LAFD website for local wildfire alerts and click here for resources on how to help those affected.
