Jennifer Garner has revealed that she lost a friend to the Los Angeles wildfires. Appearing alongside World Central Kitchen Chef José Andrés, Garner told anchor Katy Tur in an interview with MSNBC about the death of a friend she knew through church.
“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 said, choking up. “I did lose a friend. She didn’t get out in time.”
‘I feel almost guilty walking through my house’
The Eaton and Palisades fires that tore through Los Angeles had killed at least 11 people as of Friday, January 10. “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.”
Garner further said, “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 was volunteering with Andrés to feed firefighters and evacuees at one of the chef’s pop-up locations across Los Angeles County. She said in the interview that Andrés’ work to help people in distress amid the tragedy “is an incredible thing to watch.” She said, “World Central Kitchen and Chef José just come in and [said], ‘We’ve got you. We’ve got this handled. Don’t worry.’”
“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 added. “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.’”
The Palisades Fire is the largest of the fires to have affected Los Angeles County, with only 8% having been contained. Two other fires, the Eaton and Hurst fires, are still blazing and out of control. Many celebrities are among thousands of people who have fled their homes. Among stars whose homes the fires have destroyed are Anthony Hopkins, Billy Crystal, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Paris Hilton, Anna Faris, Steve Guttenberg, Mel Gibson, Tina Knowles, Miles Teller, Cobi Smulders, Melissa Rivers, Jeff Bridges, Candy Spelling, Eugene Levy and Adam Brody and Leighton Meester.
