Jay Leno Serves First Responders Fighting L.A. Wildfires Hot Meals in Vintage Fire Truck

Jay Leno Serves First Responders Fighting L.A. Wildfires Hot Meals in Vintage Fire Truck

Jay Leno is giving back to the first responders fighting the disastrous Los Angeles wildfires.

The former Tonight Show host gave out meals to the firefighters fighting the Palisades Fire Monday night, nearly one week after the blaze ignited in the area. Leno told CNN’s Anderson Cooper they served “hot food” as opposed to the “boxed lunches” that many first responders have been consuming while battling the harrowing fires. 

“We’re cooking for the crew, and you guys if you’re hungry,” he told Cooper on Monday night. “We got a big barbecue going.”

Leno arrived at the impacted area in a bright red 1941 American LaFrance fire truck. “It’s good to have your own fire truck if you live in L.A.,” he joked, adding that they offered a lending hand at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena a day earlier. 

The comedian and former TV host reflected on the “unbelievable” damages to the Pacific Palisades area, comparing the harrowing effects to that of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. 

“Not that 9/11 was a natural disaster, but it’s literally on that scale,” he said. “It’s 10,000 buildings. If you drove all day, you couldn’t see 10,000 buildings. You get on that hill and you look for miles, and there’s nothing.” 

The wildfires broke out in the Palisades on Jan. 7 before swiftly spreading through the Los Angeles area. At least 24 people have died due to the disaster. While the impacts of the wildfires are “insurmountable,” Leno noted that a resilient “sense of community” with “people all pitching in” has been “the bright side of things” amid the devastation. 

“It’s a shame it has to come to that. The last time I remember was 9/11. We all got together and for three or four days, everybody put aside their political beliefs and who’s on your lawn on a sign, and all that nonsense,” he said. “It’s happening here today. I mean, it’s a shame, that’s what it takes.”

Los Angeles Fire Department fire captain and public information officer Eric Scott commended Leno’s “kindness” as well as “the support from our community during this challenging time” in a Monday post on X with a video of the comedian serving meals to first responders. 

Leno acknowledged that the wildfires left “an entire city wiped out” and that the Pacific Palisades “doesn’t exist and probably won’t exist for the next five, six years.” Despite “insurmountable” problems ahead, Leno affirmed, “We’ll get through it. We always do.”