Yahoo Lifestyle Jimmy Kimmel tears up as he returns to late-night show amid L.A. wildfires: 'Very scary'
The host also checked in on his costar Guillermo, who he said nearly had to flee to his home amid the wildfires.
Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube
Jimmy KimmelJimmy Kimmel had to hold back tears while making his return to late-night television amid the Los Angeles wildfires on Monday.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live host, 57, became visibly emotional during his opening monologue as he reflected on the ongoing disaster and his experience evacuating the show's studio at the El Capitan Entertainment Center last week after the L.A. County Fire Department halted filming permits for productions that were located within the affected area.
“As you know it has been a very scary, very stressful, very strange week in L.A.,” Kimmel said, his voice wobbling. “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.”
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube
Snoop Dogg and Jimmy Kimmel discuss the fires on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'Related: Mandy Moore and family find shelter at Hilary Duff's home during L.A. wildfires
The camera then cut to local news footage that showed flames spreading over a hill near the El Capitan Theatre. “That’s our building right there, the El Capitan,” he remarked. “That’s how close this fire was to our theater here.”
The fires have affected everyone that works on the show. “Many of us had to leave our homes in a hurry, some of our coworkers lost their homes,” an emotional Kimmel said. “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.”
Still, the host was moved by the way that L.A. residents have come out to support one another amid the devastation. “I think I speak for all of us when I say: it has been a sickening, shocking, awful experience,” he said. “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. People who lost their own homes were out volunteering in parking lots helping others who lost theirs.”
Kimmel added that he didn’t want to spend time digging into the “vile and irresponsible” remarks made by President-elect Donald Trump and his “gaggle of scumbags” since the fires began last Tuesday, but to rather spend his time thanking emergency responders and local news reporters who are working tirelessly amid the blazes. He added, “Thank God for all of you.”
He also checked in with his visibly emotional sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez, who he revealed nearly had to flee to Kimmel’s home amid the fires. “Guillermo almost had to come live with me. He almost had to evacuate on Thursday night,” he said. “We had 19 people living with us and four dogs. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”
As of Tuesday morning, there are currently three major wildfires threatening the Los Angeles area: the Pacific Palisades fire, which has spread nearly 24,000 acres and is 17 percent contained; the Eaton fire in the Altadena-Pasadena area, which spans over 14,000 acres and is 35 percent contained; and the Hurst fire in Sylmar, which has burned almost 800 acres and is 97 percent contained. At least 24 people have died in the fires, and evacuation orders are currently in place for around 150,000 residents.
Watch Kimmel deliver his monologue in the clip above.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
