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Among the surprises in this week’s SAG award nominations (of which there were many), was Jamie Lee Curtis showing up in the supporting actress category. Jamie costars with Pamela Anderson in The Last Showgirl, and while Pamela has been on the campaign circuit, Jamie hasn’t been working it the same way. Except this week she did do a bit of promotion, appearing on The Tonight Show on Wednesday. You wouldn’t think much of an actor going on TV to support a project, except that Jamie lives in the Pacific Palisades which, as Jamie said to Jimmy Fallon, “is on fire right now.” So instead of canceling on Jimmy, Jamie used the platform as a plea/PSA to viewers. She implored people to do anything they can to help, whether it’s donating money or blood, and she also encouraged everyone everywhere (all at once… not sorry) to pack an emergency kit of essentials in case you have to flee. To quote Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own, “That’s good advice!”
“I flew here last night. I was on a plane, started getting texts, and it’s f–king gnarly, you guys,” she said. “It’s just a catastrophe in Southern California.”
“Everything,” she added. “The market I shop in, the schools my kids go to, friends — many, many, many, many friends now — have lost their homes. So it is, it’s a really awful situation.”
She said she intended to return home “first thing tomorrow” to be with family and assist friends, and encouraged viewers to support the American Red Cross and do “whatever you can do” to help, including giving blood and donating to animal shelters.
She also reminded people across the country to always have an evacuation kit prepared.
“Have an emergency kit with prescription glasses, medicines, dog food, baby formula, all the things you need if you have to flee,” she said.
In an Instagram post afterward, she also suggested that people “laminate a card with all of the important telephone numbers because when all of the technology shuts down and there’s no electricity in the panic people forget how to reach each other.”
She said in earlier posts that “my community and possibly my home is on fire” but that her family is safe.
“It is a terrifying situation and I’m grateful to the firefighters and all of the good Samaritans who are helping people get out of the way of the blaze,” she said.
Multiple fires in Los Angeles County have destroyed hundreds of homes, including those of numerous celebrities, and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate. Five people have died. The Palisades fire has gutted the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
I grew up in San Francisco and remember that in elementary school I was always required to have an emergency kit packed and kept in the classroom in case of an earthquake, complete with non-perishable food. I think my mother also kept a kit in the trunk of her car, but the only item I remember is the sleeping bag that sat next to it. So I want to thank Jamie Lee Curtis for reminding me to organize a kit again, and I also really, really appreciate that she mentioned dog food as part of the essentials, as well as her suggesting people contact animal shelters to help. Animals need our help now too! Plus that tip about laminating important phone numbers is genius. I was in New York for Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and none of us with iphones could get a signal. One person in our group had an ancient flip phone, and by gosh it was the only cell among us that worked. And on top of handing out all these good ideas, Jamie is also putting her money where her mouth is — she and her family are donating $1 million to relief efforts.
The imagery we’re seeing out of LA is truly apocalyptic, so to those in the area: please stay safe. To everyone else, please help in any way you can. And pack your kits!
Photos credit: Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon
