Jennifer Garner has opened up about a devastating personal loss in the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires.
South California is currently grappling with a series of severe wildfires that have resulted in at least 11 fatalities and necessitated the evacuation of over 180,000 residents, the New York Times reported.
According to CNN, the fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood was the first to ignite on January 7, 2025, followed by the Eaton, Hurst, Lidia, and Kenneth fires.
The Palisades Fire has been fueled by winds reaching speeds of 160 km/hour. The blaze consumed over 20,000 acres, leaving more than 5,000 homes, businesses, and structures reduced to rubble, per News.com.au.
Among those affected are a number of high-profile Hollywood figures such as Jennifer Garner, who has shared her heartbreak in a recent interview with MSNBC.
In a live broadcast, the 52-year-old actress – known for starring in 13 Going on 30 – heartbreakingly revealed that her close friend didn’t survive the blaze.
The actress told reporter Katy Tur: “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.”
The two stood in the fire-scarred neighborhood alongside World Central Kitchen’s Chef José Andrés.
Watch the interview below:Garner emotionally continued: “I did lose a friend. She didn’t get out in time. My heart bleeds for my friends. I mean, I can think of 100 families, and there are 5,000 homes lost. I could – without even [thinking] – just write out a list of 100 friends who lost their homes.”
The Elektra star spoke fondly of the once-vibrant Palisades neighborhood, particularly Fiske Street, which had been alive with children playing and families gathering.
“My best friend’s house was down the street. They had a gong in their front yard,” she reminisced. “There were so many kids that played in the street, and they would hit the gong at the end of the day to call them home.”
“This is the street we run down on 5Ks. This is where the little firetruck – God, bless our firefighters – this is where the firetruck goes, you know, on the Fourth of July parade,” she added.
The devastation left the Hollywood star reflecting on her fortune, as her Brentwood farmhouse, valued at $7.9 million, was spared.
“I almost feel guilty walking through my house,” she confessed. “What can I do? How can I help? What do I have to offer with these hands and these walls and the safety that I have?”
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Garner joined Chef José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen team to assist in feeding the heroic firefighters battling the wildfires. The organization is known for mobilizing during crises to provide meals to those in need.
“You’re never going wrong if you donate to World Central Kitchen,” Garner said, before reflecting on her decades-long connection to the Palisades.
“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,” she shared. “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 wildfires displaced residents from all walks of life, from everyday workers to celebrities such as Garner, Paris Hilton, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Anna Faris, and Billy Crystal.
While the government hasn’t released official damage estimates, private firms predict costs in the tens of billions. The Walt Disney Co. pledged $15 million Friday to aid fire relief and rebuilding efforts, AP News reported.
Per the outlet, officials expect a rise in the death toll as cadaver dogs search through leveled neighborhoods in an area larger than San Francisco.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Department warned that identifying victims could take weeks due to ongoing fires, extreme safety hazards, and the potential unavailability of identification methods like fingerprinting or visual recognition, per The Guardian.
