Jimmy Kimmel made his return to late-night television on Monday amid the LA fires.
The host, 57, teared up during his emotional monologue as he reflected on the ongoing blazes in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Eaton.
Kimmel recounted having to evacuate the show’s studio at the El Capitan Entertainment Center last week after the LA County Fire Department stopped all filming permits for productions that were within the affected area.
“As you know it has been a very scary, very stressful, very strange week in L.A.,” 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 coworkers 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.”
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.”
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.”
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 over 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.
“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.”
