Jay Leno brought his own fire truck to serve food to first responders battling deadly LA fires: ‘It’s unbelievable’
Amid the Los Angeles fires, the former late-night host, 74, has been driving to relief sites in his own fire truck to feed the first responders.
On Monday, Leno spoke with CNN’s Anderson Cooper in an impromptu interview about the disaster relief he is providing to those working around the clock to put out the blazes.
As winds are expected to reach up to 70 mph between Tuesday, Jan. 14, and Wednesday, Jan. 15, Leno told Anderson, 57, he “drove a 1941 American LaFrance fire truck” to lend a hand and teased, “It’s good to have your own fire truck when you live in LA.”
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“We’re cooking for the crew,” the comedian elaborated. “We’ve got a big barbecue going. They’re all getting boxed lunches, so we figured let’s get some hot food.”
Leno also volunteered at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Sunday, Jan. 12, revealing to Cooper that he will also visit other locations over the next week.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s the biggest natural disaster, not that 9/11 was a natural disaster, but it’s literally on that scale,” continued Leno. “It’s 10,000 buildings. I mean, if you drove all day, you couldn’t see 10,000 buildings.”
The writer added that it “looks like Hiroshima,” and although he’s heartened by the sense of community he’s witnessed, “It’s a shame that [a wildfire] is what it takes.”
“I try to look at the bright side of things,” Leno quipped. “The last time I remember was 9/11. The sense of community for three or four days, everybody put aside their political beliefs. It’s happening here today.”
“It’s an entire city wiped out,” Leno continued. “Pacific Palisades, it doesn’t exist and probably won’t exist for the next four, five years. I don’t know how you rebuild from this.”
Giving a nod to the City of Angels, he added, “But we’ll get through it. We always do.”
Jamie Lee Curtis also spoke out about the state of Los Angeles, comparing its fire-ravaged neighborhoods to war-torn countries in the Middle East.
“The entire Pacific Palisades looks like, you know, unfortunately, Gaza or one of these war-torn countries where awful things have happened,” the actress, 66, said during a Q&A for “The Last Showgirl” posted to X.
Days before, the “Freaky Friday” star fought tears as she spoke about the “catastrophe” of the Palisades Fire that hit the coastal neighborhood where she has lived for decades.
“As you know, where I live is on fire right now. Literally, the entire city of the Pacific Palisades is burning. I flew here last night. I was on the plane and started getting texts. It’s f–king gnarly, you guys,” Curtis told Jimmy Fallon during an appearance on his show.
“It’s a catastrophe in Southern California. Obviously there have been horrific fires in many places. This is literally where I live. Everything.”
Firefighters have been working since last week to put out at least six fires in Los Angeles — the largest being the Palisades and Eaton fires that have now collectively scorched almost 40,000 acres combined and counting.