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
In Australia, this is 101. Weird how much people don’t prepare in other countries. We’ve always had go bag. Life 101.. Funny they think this is special
I’ve never prepared a go-bag in all my decades, and I don’t know anyone who has. We’ve also never had a wildfire, earthquake, tornado (other than littl’uns that maybe break some windows), hurricane, etc. The only natural disaster we get is floods, and we get literally weeks of preparation time for those. So, congratulations, I guess? Some of us aren’t living in places where we’ve needed this, and yes, it’s new information.
I’ve had a “go bag” ready for years but I’m not smug about it.
Nobody thinks it’s “special”, but a lot of people put off making up an emergency kit because their finances are really tight and they don’t have extra money for a spare pair of prescription glasses (which can be hundreds of dollars here in the States) or their insurance won’t approve a dispensation of extra prescription meds for emergency, or they struggle to have enough food for day to day living let alone putting food aside “just in case”.
One of the reasons she was on TV was to remind people of how important it is to be prepared. She wasn’t prancing around going ohhh I’m so special look at me and my special kit, for pete’s sake.
It costs you nothing to use some empathy here, man.
I’m in Santa Monica which, in general, is a low fire risk area. I don’t (or at least I didn’t until this week) have stuff ready to take when fleeing a fire. That said, I DO have an earthquake kit. My (96 yo) dad lives in a high fire risk area — near the Sussexes— and we have both for him plus a generator.
Jamie has been very active on social media throughout the fires, giving updates and safety tips.
She and Christopher Guest have already donated a million dollars to a fund for people who have lost everything.
As some people from Spain recently found out, there aren’t always weeks of preparations before floods.
I live on a tropical island, have a father born in the french West Indies, always been taught to have things prepared to be ready to leave in minutes : clothes, papers, proof of insurance etc…
And even if an evacuation is not needed be prepared to face power cut, water restriction. Don’ t wait till the last minute to buy batteries, lamps or power banks and find yourself trapped in queues with the legions of unprepaired.
Did exactly the same thing when I lived in Paris. Storms, fires, power cuts strike everywhere.
I live alone and back during Covid, I put together an info binder. It’s a skinny three ring binder, with page protectors and two zipped pouches. It holds all my vital documents, financial information, and key passwords. Plus passport, and other ID that’s not in my wallet. It’s in the bottom of one of my dresser drawers. My family knows where it is and it’s easy to grab if there were a fire or some other reason I needed to leave in a hurry. My sister has a binder for every family member.
It’s a very real piece of mind thing.
Great idea!
We all have emergency bags ready to grab in case someone needs to go to the hospital urgently. Things get checked regularly, or replaced if needed — like toothpaste. These bags could also be used in case of a natural disaster.
We also have doubles of documents stored on external devices that are kept elsewhere, as clouds can be hacked.
Unlike Ms Palin, who could see Russia from her house, we’ve had drones circling above critical infrastructure repeatedly in the past few months, including US bases located in my home country, so the threat is real.
Having gone through the Marshall Fire 3 years ago, I can tell you it is a life-altering moment when you have 10 minutes to gather what is most important and then have to close the door on all the rest. I was lucky to come back to my house but 1000 of my neighbours weren’t.
Always have documents and important things where you can grab them and throw them into a bin and go. It really happens.
Re: the Australian comment. It must depend where you live. I grew up in Oz and never had a ‘go to’ bag. “Weird how they think this is special” is condescending af and not helpful. But go on, brag.
I hope everyone affected gets assistance and appreciate Jamie Lee’s advice.
Yeah, I’m not up for prickish comments today.
I am discovering there is definitely a difference between being prepared and going off the deep end into full-on prepper. Being ready doesn’t have to be complicated – or expensive. A lot of it is common sense. Something is better than nothing. And in disaster prone areas any good local government worth that name will have basic advice online that is tailored to whatever risks are relevant to your area. A lot of them will even have seminars or presentations you can sign up for that are free to residents.
The Ps of grab n go:
People and pets.
Papers, phone numbers and important documents.
Prescriptions, vitamins and eyeglasses.
Pictures and irreplaceable memorabilia.
Personal computer, hard drive and disks.
“Plastic” (credit cards, ATM or debit cards) and cash.
Post this in each room. Save it to your phone. Practice with your family. Often you may have MINUTES to evacuate (basically fleeing, running for your life). And HEED THE WARNINGS OF YOUR LOCAL FIRST RESPONDERS!
I have friends who had to flee the Santa Rosa fires in the middle of the night a few years back, with no notice. Cops banging on the door in the dark yelling GO GO GO GO GO … Annette wound up with her daughter, the dog, her purse, in her nightgown. Everything else was gone.
@LarkspurLM Your comment is so helpful! Thank you! This type of mnemonic is exactly what panicking people (more Ps!) need in the moment.
Here’s a good link
https://readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/go-evacuation-guide/
An Evacuation *Warning*- leave now if you need additional time to get out or if you have pets or livestock
An Evacuation *Order – GTFO
I live in Northern California and have seen the fires in Sonoma County come on fast (@charlotte!!) and awareness has increased since 2017…but there’s always a “it won’t happen to me” mentality that prevents preparation.
one more link with easy infographics and details “types” of disasters.
https://www.listoscalifornia.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Disaster-Ready-Guide-2021-English.pdf
Know your neighbors! Does someone need assistance if evacuation is required? Stay informed! Subscribe to any alerts that your local jurisdictions send. HEED THE WARNINGS AND BE PREPARED! xo
I’m adding a collapsible water bowl for my pets.
Someone also mentioned a list of options when you have five minutes, or 10 minutes, or 30 minutes, or an hour or more. The list could expand to include more things that you might have time to put in your car, but of course you always need that five minute run for your life list or go bag.
This has been a terrifying wake up call, but it’s a good chance to get ready and share the information with anyone who you think might need it.
Maybe some things you can keep in the trunk of your car? Just saying this because when we lived in MInnesota, in the winter we always had, snow boots, gloves, sleeping bag, granola bars, water, etc, in the car. So not valuables, but change of clothes, cash, non-perishable food, granola bar, pet food. I think I might start start doing that in hurricane season. That way you don’t have to grab as much from the house.