Disney is donating $15m to relief efforts stemming from the LA wildfires that are reported to have claimed 11 lives, destroyed more than 10,000 structures, and forced more than 130,000 evacuations across the metropolis.
The media giant said the funds would be used for emergency response and rebuilding work in light of the crisis that has seen two of the worst fires in the area’s history – Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire – as well as several others that continued to burn into the night on Friday.
Paramount has reportedly donated $1m to local organisations including Red Cross and Los Angeles Fire Department. The developments come a day after Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis said she and her family were pledging $1m to set up a fund to help those impacted by the unfolding tragedy.
Entertainment Community Fund, a national human services body supporting performing arts and entertainment professionals, has created a resources page on its website directing visitors to relevant information, advice on seeking emergency financial relief, and a separate donations page.
Meanwhile FireAid, a benefit concert numbering Live Nation among its producers, has been organised for January 30 at the indoor Intuit Dome in the Inglewood suburb of Los Angeles. Proceeds will go towards rebuilding infrastructure and improving fire prevention.
Inevitably, the wildfires have become a political football as the preparedness or otherwise of local authorities has come into sharp focus.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has received strong criticism for departing on an official trip to Ghana last Saturday, just as National Weather Service was issuing warnings about imminent rising winds. She returned on Tuesday, after the fires had erupted, and was also pressed on why she had cut the Fire Department budget.
Meanwhile California Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered an inquiry into the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to find out why there was a significant drop in water pressure reported by fire crews in the Pacific Palisades area, hindering their work, and why the Santa Ynez Reservoir, a water storage facility serving the area designed to hold millions of gallons of water, was under maintenance when the fires broke out.
Newsom has invited President-elect Trump to visit the region and survey the damage, appearing to ignore earlier accusations by Trump that his policies were to blame for the crisis.
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