“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned to the air on Monday, after missing a handful of episodes late last week due to the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area. Earlier in the day, Kimmel and the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” team turned the parking lot behind the show’s studio — where normally live outdoor music performances are staged — to serve as a donation point (which continues through Friday). That night, Kimmel opened up the show’s monologue by addressing the catastrophe.
“As you know, it has been a very scary, very stressful, very strange week here in LA – where we work, where we live, where our kids go to school,” Kimmel began, noting that the “JKL” studios had to evacuate on Wednesday because of its close proximity to the fires in Runyon Canyon.
“Many of us had to leave our homes in a hurry,” he said. “Some of our co-workers 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 houses burned down.
“And the truth is, we don’t even know if it’s over. We had 100 mile per hour winds – fueling this nightmare. As of tonight, the winds are back.
“I think I speak for all of us when I say it has been a sickening, shocking, awful experience. But it 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.
“And tonight, I don’t want to get into all the vile and irresponsible and stupid things our alleged future President and his gaggle of scumbags chose to say during our darkest and most terrifying hour,” he said. “The fact that they chose to attack our firefighters, who apparently aren’t white enough to be out there, risking their lives on our behalf, is it’s disgusting. But it’s not surprising.
“Instead, I want to focus on thanking those men and women – because that’s all we should be doing right now. And we should never stop thanking them. Our firefighters from L.A. were the first on the scene without hesitation. They were out there, putting out the fires as best they could. And then we had firefighters from other states coming in from Nevada, from Arizona, Texas, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Washington, Northern California, New Mexico, Idaho, Maine. We have fire men and women from Mexico, from Canada, and we are very grateful to them.
“And to our police, our National Guard, our rescue workers, doctors, the nurses, EMTs, the pilots working 12-hour shifts – thank God for all of you. And if you want to thank these brave individuals with a donation, this is a very good place to start: Support LAFD dot org.
“And I also want to thank our local news reporters – who reminded us how important local television and radio and newspapers.”
Kimmel also talked live with Border Grill chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, who were making meals for emergency responders, as well as to “Police Academy” star Steve Guttenberg, who made headlines while speaking to reporters in Pacific Palisades over the weekend.
Kimmel later added: “You know we’ve learned a lot over the last six days here in LA. We learned the names of every local news reporter. We learned that there’s such a thing as a “boiling water advisory.” We learned that Steve Guttenberg’s a goddamn national treasure. We learned that – most of us are useless – in an emergency situation. We learned some new words – like “Slopover” and “Phos-chek.” We learned that there is a socially acceptable use for the word “retardant.” We learned that there was a Bunny Museum in Altadena which I didn’t know. We learned that none of our out-of-state family members – know the difference between Santa Monica and Santa Clarita. And we learned that – whoever was sending out those emergency notifications to evacuate – should not be doing that job. You know – before – I feel like I’m an expert now on all this fire – before this happened, most of what I knew about fire safety – came from watching Paw Patrol.”
Monday’s guests included Snoop Dogg (“Missionary”), Roy Wood Jr. (“Roy Wood Jr: Lonely Flowers”) and musical guest Dawes, from Altadena. “We asked Snoop to come here for three reasons. Number one, he’s like a family member to us. Number two, he represents Los Angeles in a in a big way. And number three, he’s impervious to smoke.”
In a spot, Snoop and Kimmel shared a message that “we’re in this together. Stay strong, LA!”:
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” also added a banner of support for L.A.’s first responders in front of its Hollywood studio:
As for the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” donation center that launched earlier in the day, Kimmel wrote in an Instagram post: “Fellow Angelenos – if you’re looking for a way to help those affected by the fires, we have a donation center in our backlot in Hollywood. We will quickly distribute essential items to those who need them. Thank you for supporting and please spread the word to those in our neighborhood.”
The donations take place through Friday from noon to 6 p.m. at 6901 Hawthorn Ave. Accepted items include bottled water and Gatorade, baby food, pet food, non-perishable food Items (canned goods or individually wrapped snacks like bags of pretzels or chips), new toiletries/hygiene products, new socks/underwear, diapers and baby wipes.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” was originally scheduled to air last Wednesday with guests including Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked”), Brian Jordan Alvarez (“English Teacher”) and musical guest Victoria Canal; Thursday’s episode was slated to feature Timothée Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”) and musical guest The Lumineers.
