Wildfires took over Los Angeles (LA), California in Jan., 2025, causing billions of dollars in damages and displacing hundreds of families.
LA is widely considered to be the center of the music industry, as it is the host of the most notorious award show— the Grammys. This year’s host, Trevor Noah, spent time convincing many celebrities to donate, along with reading out the names of many large companies that donated. For many watchers, there was a scannable QR code at the bottom of the screen that invited donations to FireAid.
Between Jan. 8-21, three separate wildfire events occurred in California, burning over 50,000 acres in land. The fires were fueled by one of California’s driest winters in the last 50 years and strong winds associated with a Santa Ana wind event. Wind gusts in some areas surpassed 100 mph.
Typically, winter is California’s wet season; however, an El Niño event in the Pacific Ocean has helped keep much of the southwest and east coast under drought conditions. The Eaton fire and the Palisades fire burned down the suburbs of LA, resulting in one of the costliest wildfire events in American history.
The wildfires have had devastating impacts on the LA community. 29 people are known to have died in the fires, and many homes, schools, and businesses have burned down. Some well-known celebrities have also lost homes, including Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal, and Tyra Banks.
In response to this tragedy, organizers of the Grammys decided to use the award show to help those affected by the fires. The award show was opened by a performance by a LA based rock band whose members lost homes and equipment in the fires. Additionally, firefighters presented Beyonce her award, and the show offered employment to about 6,500 people in the LA area.
Throughout the night, Noah prompted both the celebrities and viewers to donate to the MusiCares fire relief portal for all those who were affected in the California fires. However, the fundraiser raised some criticism on X as viewers were shocked at the irony of a room full of wealthy celebrities asking for others to donate. Needless to say, the fundraiser raised $24 million in support of the wildfire relief. $15 million of that came from Grammy-related events leading up to the Grammys, and $9 million from the telecast.
