George Stroumboulopoulos Hosts Friends And Animals Affected By Wildfires Raging Through Los Angeles
The Canadian broadcaster and music tastemaker has opened his home to friends seeking safe shelter from the fires, which have forced the evacuation of roughly 180,000 people.
Canadian entertainer George Stroumboulopoulos is staying put in his Los Angeles home, welcoming friends and pets fleeing the raging fires.
Nicole Thompson and Alex Nino Gheciu of the Canadian Press report that Stroumboulopoulos, a longtime broadcaster and music tastemaker in Canada, is hosting eight people, two dogs and a cat at his L.A. home.
Stroumboulopoulos saw the Sunset fire catch on the Hollywood Hills near his home on Wednesday, January 8, but by Thursday that smaller fire was under control. The two major fires in Pasadena and the Pacific Palisades continue to burn, inflamed by the Santa Ana winds.
"No one knocked on my door last night to ask me to leave," he said Thursday. "They knocked on the door to come in. And I think that's why we stay," Stroumboulopoulos told the Canadian Press, emphasizing that Los Angeles residents are taking care of each other during a devastating time.
"We're out there delivering boxes and moving stuff and bringing people in and things like that, and passing food off to different places," he said, mentioning that some people are even leaving keys in their cars for others to use.
Community members beyond L.A. are also rallying to support residents affected by the fires, donating to fundraisers for musicians like Tim Darcy of Canadian band Cola and Zachary Cole Smith of L.A. group DIIV. The wildfires have so far forced the evacuation of nearly 180,000 people, with 10 deaths reported to date and as many as 10,000 structures destroyed, per CNN.
Even for residents who haven't lost their homes, the fires and high-powered winds are a serious health threat. Stroumboulopoulos described waking up in the middle of the night with pain in his chest and eyes, realizing that the wind had blown his windows open and smoke was coming in.
"It was still dark, but you could feel it in your lungs. And then when the sun started to come up, I just went outside and looked around, and you could see these mountains of smoke from a couple different directions."
Other Canadians affected by the fires include actor Eugene Levy, who reportedly lost his home, and Grammy-winning record producer Greg Wells. "I guess Google maps no longer needs to blur the image of our house," Wells shared on Instagram. Canadian musicians Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace have also evacuated.
Head here for a list of organizations offering relief for music workers affected by the L.A. wildfires.
MasegoCam Hicks