Jimmy Kimmel is emotional as he returns to ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ amid LA wildfires.Photo:ABC

Jimmy Kimmel Chokes Up in Return to Late-Night Show amid L.A. Wildfires

ABC

Jimmy Kimmelwas emotional as he returned to his late-night show for the first time amid thedevastating L.A. wildfires.

The host and his team had to evacuate the studio where they film the nightly show in the El Capitan Theatre on Jan. 8, he said, as footage of the fire that got close to Hollywood played.

“Many of us had to leave our homes in a hurry. Some of our co-workers lost their homes. It’s been terrible," he continued, choking up again as more footage of the fires played.

“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, because we had 100 mile per hour winds fueling this nightmare. As of tonight, the winds are back,” 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,” he went on. “People who lost their own homes were out volunteering in parking lots, helping others who lost theirs.”

“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,” he said.

He then gave a shoutout to “our police, our National Guard, our rescue workers, doctors, the nurses, EMTs, the pilots working 12-hour shifts,” as he said, “Thank God for all of you.”

A firefighting helicopter drops water as the Sunset Fire burns in the Hollywood Hills on Jan. 8, 2025.Mario Tama/Getty

Hollywood Hills fire

Mario Tama/Getty

As the fires began raging last week,production on several shows was paused in L.A., includingJimmy Kimmel Live!as well as various scripted ABC shows likeGrey’s AnatomyandDoctor Odyssey.

Similar precautions were taken on the CBS Studios lot, as production was paused onNCIS,NCIS: Origins,The NeighborhoodandPoppa’s House. However, production resumed on Monday, Jan. 13 on closed sound stages.

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Jimmy Kimmel Live!airs weeknights on ABC. Check local listings.

Click hereto learn more about how to help the victims of the L.A. fires.

source: people.com